"I love Dwayne Johnson and some of his films, but he's such a comedian. I hope this is not going to be a comedy and the character is not a comic character," Vicky Holt Takamine told Hawaii News Now.
Others, like Lilikala Kameeleihiwasenior professor at the University of Hawaiis Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studiessaid this casting choice reflects previous Hollywood efforts to appropriate the native history.
Kamehameha is a grand chief of Hawaii and not some Hollywood Disney character, she said. It is totally inappropriate to have a non-Hawaiian actor play him. There must be a hundred descendants of Kamehameha who could play the part. If ever a film should be made (about Kamehameha), it should be written, in Hawaiian, by one of Kamehamehas descendants. Its their kuleana.
The Rock & high concept fantasy epics hasn't been a winning combination. Hercules didn't do well in the domestic BO (it did decent OS but nothing to write home about). Scorpion King did 0k but a good deal of it can be attributed to the time during which it released i.e, it was the golden age of epic fantasy movies (LOTR, HP, POTC, Narnia).
But Dwayne's international pull has grown manifold since Hercules (2014). He has a lot of clout in foreign markets after San Andreas, Rampage, Jumanji 2 & the F&F franchise. Jungle Cruise & Red Notice will increase his fanbase even more. High concept fantasies have a hard time breaking out in today's BO climate so getting a globally recognized face is a good starting point to make the project commercially viable.
I don't think this is a fantasy film.