New Zealand-based Māori actor Temuera Morrison is probably best known to Comics Beat readers as the actor who played Jango Fett and the other clone troopers in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and later Boba Fett in the Disney+ shows The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. However, what the actor is most proud of is bringing an authentic Māori spirit to Hollywood, even in his roles as the various clone troopers, like how his Boba Fett moves in the Disney+ shows were “haka-inspired” (for those who don’t know: haka is a traditional dance that involves chanting and vigorous movement). In his most recent 2025 film In the Fire of War, distributed by Indican Pictures and directed by the actor’s long-time friend Mike Jonathan (who crashed our interview), Morrison gets to revel in bringing his culture to the big screen, as the film is based on a real-world battle between his people and colonial settlers.
The film In the Fire of War is set in 1864, during the New Zealand Wars, a series of armed conflicts between the British colonial government and various Māori iwi (tribes). According to its official description, it follows, “Haki, a Māori-European teenager, fighting for the British colonial forces, is captured by the Māori resistance,” who, while in captivity, “starts a friendship with Kopu (Hinerangi Harawira-Nicholas), a young girl believed to be a medium for the Māori god of war.” Together, the duo leads Kopu’s people into a brutal battle with the British colonial forces in a battle for liberty or death.
In the film, Temuera Morrison plays Rewi Maniapoto, a historical Ngāti Maniapoto chief who leads a resistance against the British and allied forces. “We’re doing it for our ancestors when you come down to it,” Morrison told The Beat. “Sometimes you can create magic, and sometimes you can capture that… You can capture the sound of our singing, the wailing, the pain, and sometimes magic happens, and this happened in this film.”
In The Fire of War is directed by Mike Jonathan, in his directorial debut, and written by Tim Worrall and stars Temuera Morrison (Aquaman, Star Wars), Jason Flemyng (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Mirama Smith (Love and Monsters), Cliff Curtis (Sunshine), and numerous up-and-coming Māori talents.
Watch the full interview below, where we discuss why this film means so much to him, as well as his first role in Barb Wire, alongside Pamela Anderson:
In the Fire of War premiered in theaters on June 6, 2025, and arrived On Demand on June 10, 2025.
English (US) · 