Jason Momoa is returning to NZ, but who’s he bringing with him? - Spy

Who is the buddy Jason Momoa will be bringing down under this time? Photo / Getty Images

Aquaman, Chief of War and Minecraft star Jason Momoa is returning to Aotearoa, and Spy understands he will have a famous friend in tow.

Jason Momoa is about to film his third production in New Zealand, but who is the buddy he will be bringing down under this time?

Spy understands Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista will join Momoa in Auckland over the next few months, to film action movie The Wrecking Crew.

DC Studios’ Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto is reportedly directing the film, which is described as a buddy cop comedy similar to Lethal Weapon.

The film is said to be set in Hawaii and sources tell Spy it will film there and in New Zealand, much like Momoa did for his Apple TV+ series Chief of War, which he filmed early last year. He followed CoW up with filming big-budget Hollywood movie Minecraft – which boasts a raft of international stars, including Jack Black – in Auckland last summer.

Momoa, 44, and Bautista, 55, are known for their bulk and brawn as much as their acting chops, and the pair will make a dream team in a buddy movie.

Dave Bautista will join Momoa in Auckland to film The Wrecking Crew. Photo / Getty Images

US media have reported the pair has been looking for a vehicle in which to work together for some time. US entertainment bible Deadline reported last year that Bautista and Momoa were both in talks to star in MGM’s The Wrecking Crew, scripted by Warrior creator Jonathan Tropper, long before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Bautista, a former WWE wrestling star, became a global film star for his role as Drax the Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. His character Drax made a Marvelverse crossover in Thor: Love and Thunder, directed by Kiwi Taika Waititi.

Last year Bautista starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin. Bautista is set to star with another Kiwi, Thomasin McKenzie, in live-action film Grendel, with a cast of Hollywood legends including Jeff Bridges and Bryan Cranston.

This weekend, Momoa’s dream of seeing his favourite sports team in the world – the All Blacks play a Pacific clash in the United States – will come to fruition.

In February, while he was filming Minecraft in Auckland, the Aquaman star cheekily claimed he was the driving force behind the All Blacks and Fiji test match clash in San Diego at SnapDragon Stadium.

After the test match was announced Momoa posted a video to Instagram revealing his part in its conception. “I wanted to get the All Blacks, my favourite team of all time, to come to the US and play on US soil,” Momoa said in the video. “They listened to me, they were like, ‘Jason, that’s a great idea let’s do it.

“It’s the clash of the Pacific - it’s gonna happen,” he said, adding. “it’s all my idea, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story,” before ending the video, “New Zealand, I love ya.”

Momoa’s video garnered a comment from the All Blacks’ social media which replied, “Thanks for the idea brother, couldn’t have done it without you.” alongside a winking face emoji.

Correction: This story earlier stated Chief of War is a Prime Video series. It is Apple TV+.

Ricardo Simich is the New Zealand Herald’s Spy Editor. Based in Auckland he covers all roads that lead to popular culture.