Is Jason Momoa Headed Back to Hawai‘i?

Based on his recent Instagram posts, he might be. And if he is, can he please, please, please make more videos with local social media stars?

By James Charisma

Photos: Courtesy of Jason Momoa’s YouTube channel. Captured from the video, Surfboards for my Ohana

Early this month, local boy-turned-Aquaman star Jason Momoa posted two dashing photos of himself on Instagram: one with his wife, Lisa Bonet, the two of them riding a motorcycle and looking like a pair of absolute badasses; and the other photo with him and his two kids, hanging out among amber waves of grain somewhere. In the post’s caption, he gave a shout out to his ‘ohana, declaring that he was “coming home” and that “the countdown begins.” Between films, Momoa has been shooting episodes of On The Roam, a weblog that chronicles Momoa’s travels. But it sounds like he’s hoping to head back to Hawai‘i for a bit: “ON THE ROAM needs to GO HOME,” he wrote in the caption.

Momoa was sorta in Hawai‘i this past Thursday (at least, in prerecorded video form) introducing viewers at Kualoa Ranch to the premiere of the ocean sustainability documentary Save The Reef. And then on Friday, he posted the trailer to his new short film, Where the Wild Stomped In, which premieres on YouTube this Sunday (Father’s Day), with the caption, “FINALLY HOME with my OHANA.”

SEE ALSO: 12 Must-See Photos of Hawai‘i-Born ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Jason Momoa

We’re thinking that his Instagram message means he has plans to actually return to the Islands to unwind and spend time with friends and family. Whether he’s coming back for just a few days or longer, we only have one request: that he please, please, please make more comedy videos with local social media content creators.

“He messaged me early last year and was like, ‘Brah, I like your stuff man. We should go eat at Hannara’s next time I head Wai‘anae side,’” says social media influencer and content creator Easten James. Of his more than 95,000 followers on Instagram, James knew that his comedy videos had attracted an audience—but he had no idea that among his fans was Jason Momoa. Turns out, Momoa keeps his eye on social media in Hawai‘i and started following James and commenting on his videos. When Momoa was on the island this past December for the premiere of Aquaman, he invited James to meet up: “I was golfing one day, then he [direct messaged] me for my number. Then Jason called me right then and said, ‘We’re hanging out, brah.’ I’m like, ‘shoots.’”

Fellow local social media comedian Alex Farnham had just flown in and James picked him up from the airport. They were too late to catch Momoa at Highway Inn, where the actor headed for lunch as soon as he arrived in Hawai‘i, so Momoa instead invited them to meet him at the Four Seasons, where he and his family were staying.

SEE ALSO: How Hawai‘i Comedians Are Using Social Media to Cash in on Local Culture

At Ko Olina, they hung out and threw around ideas for short comedy videos they could shoot for social media, including one where James tries drawing triangles on Farnham’s arm using magic marker to match Momoa’s triangular sleeve tattoo, and another video at a fancy restaurant where Momoa watches disdainfully as James tucks a handkerchief-sized napkin into the neckline of his T-shirt like a toddler’s bib. “We were all just kinda spit balling ideas; Alex came up with a bunch and we shot them on the spot. It was a little tricky going in because we had no idea how much time we were gonna have or where the location was gonna be,” says James.

One video was filmed right in Momoa’s hotel room: James and Farnham pose as local fans (not too hard to do) who dress up as hotel employees and sneak into Momoa’s room. The actor comes out of the shower and catches them in the room—James, still clutching a pair of Momoa’s boxer shorts he picked up off the ground (“Look, his BVDs!”)—and Momoa and his kids chase James and Farnham through the hotel.

“Jason is awesome, he’s down to do anything. I had an idea for a video where a guy steps on wana in the ocean, so another guy pees on his leg, but he also pees on his face by accident,” says James. “So I’m telling Jason the idea, thinking Jason is gonna be the guy in the video who tells the two characters that the only solution is for someone else to piss on it. But then Jason was like, ‘Nah, I’m gonna come up, drinking a beer, and I’m gonna piss on him.’ Brah, he was down for whatever. Super cool.”

James and Momoa are both from Wai‘anae and did end up eating at Hannara Restaurant twice. They also drank beers, and listened to music at Mākaha Beach. “It was a little surreal for me because here’s this famous guy in my hometown. Yet all the [old school] surf uncles and everybody knows him and his dad and his family because it’s his hometown, too. They’re telling me stories of when Jason was a kid,” says James. “[Jason] plays some intense characters but he’s not so scary. He’s down to earth, real goofy. Likes to party.”

SEE ALSO: Hawai‘i’s Veteran Comics Weigh In on Social Media Comedy

Sadly, their party had to end when Momoa went back to Los Angeles at the end of 2018. But here’s hoping it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of their social media collaborations. “There’s more stuff on the horizon I hope,” James says. “Would love to try and keep the local kine comedy going.”

Us too.

Watch Where the Wild Stomped In at youtube.com/c/JasonMomoa this Sunday, June 16.