Jason Momoa’s ‘Helldivers’ Starts Filming in New Zealand in August

Jason Momoa will be back in New Zealand for the filming of his next feature. Production on ‘Helldivers’ will take place in Auckland, New Zealand, starting this August. Justin Lin will direct the movie, based on a script by Gary Dauberman. Momoa last shot Apple TV+’s ‘Chief of War’ in the country. ‘Helldivers’ will be released in theaters on November 10, 2027.

‘Helldivers’ is a shooter video game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and released in 2015. The dystopian universe of Helldivers has humanity ruled by a “managed democracy”, an alteration of contemporary democracy where the outcome of elections is more predictable. The pseudo-democracy has become more than a way of electing a government; it has become a creed by which the inhabitants of Super Earth fight for, without fully acknowledging what it means. Super Earth, the fictional futuristic Earth, is beset on all sides by three hostile enemy races (the Bugs, the Cyborgs, and the Illuminates) that, according to the government, need to be subdued in one way or another. And while the Helldivers are a pure combat unit, they are often tasked with retrieving technology, activating oil pumps, or other activities that are deemed important by the government to preserve freedom and the Super Earth’s way of life. It remains to be seen if Momoa will play a member of the Helldivers or someone else.

Jason Momoa gets his second role in a video game adaptation with this movie, having previously starred in ‘A Minecraft Movie,’ alongside Jack Black, a sequel to which is in the works. Momoa’s fans know him as Khal Drogo in ‘Game of Thrones’ and as the DC superhero Aquaman from ‘The Justice League’ and ‘Aquaman’ movies. His latest credits include Ka’iana in ‘Chief of War’ and Jonny Hale in the Prime Video action comedy movie ‘The Wrecking Crew,’ also starring Dave Bautista.

2026 will have Momoa star as another DC comic character, the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo, in ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’ There is also a third video-game feature adaptation lined up for him, i.e., ‘Street Fighter,’ in which he will be seen as feral savage Blanka. His last movie in the 2026 slate is Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Three,’ where he will play Hayt, a humanoid created in the image of Duncan Idaho, also played by him in ‘Dune: Part One.’

Justin Lin, best known for directing several ‘Fast & Furious’ movies, including ‘F9: The Fast Saga,’ ‘Fast & Furious 6,’ ‘Fast Five,’ ‘Fast & Furious,’ and ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.’ His other directorial credits include ‘Star Trek Beyond’ and several episodes of ‘Scorpion,’ ‘The Endgame,’ ‘Magnum P.I.,’ and ‘S.W.A.T.’

Read More: Untitled Ocean’s Prequel Movie to be Shot Across the UK, Monaco, and Italy Starting this Summer