Fresh off of his appearance as the titular intergalactic bounty hunter in The Book of Boba Fett, New Zealand native Temuera Morrison is returning to his roots with a new series for Sundance Now titled Far North. Per a report from Variety, the show, which is currently filming in the remote Northern tip of the country, stars Morrison alongside fellow New Zealander and award-winner Robyn Malcolm (Top of the Lake, Outrageous Fortune) as a typical couple who somehow thwart a massive plot from an international crime ring involving their deals in the Pacific. Filming is expected to take 14 weeks with seven on location in the small town of Ahipara.
Far North hails from David White (This Town, Meat), who created, directed, and conducted research for the series. The series is based on a real series of events that took place in Ahipara, though everyone has remained mum on the finer details. White also served as a screenwriter alongside Suli Moa (Shortland Street, The Panthers) and Mingjian Cui (Inked, Meme). In total, the show will consist of six one-hour episodes. Joining Morrison and Malcolm will be Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (The Panthers), Xana Tang (Mulan, Sweet Tooth), Fei Li (Island of Yesterday, Eternal Romance), Gabriel Chao Ren (Power Rangers, Cowboy Bebop), Maaka Pohatu (Savage, Wellington Paranormal), and Fay Tofilau (26:29).
Production of Far North is a joint effort between U.S. and New Zealand studios with South Pacific Pictures and White Balance Pictures leading the project. They're producing for Sundance Now (U.S.), Paramount+ (Australia), Warner Bros. Discovery (New Zealand), and All3Media International. Among the executive producers is White who'll work through his White Balance banner along with South Pacific Pictures CEO Kelly Martin. Chris Bailey will also produce while Nicole Horan will line produce. Te Puna Kairangi, the New Zealand Government’s Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund, will provide funding with Sundance Now, Paramount +, Warner Bros. Discovery NZ, and All3 Media International.
"This project has been six years in the making and we are beyond thrilled to now be in the production phase," Martin said of the series. "Far North is an epic story based on real-life events and audiences are going to be taken on an incredible journey when they watch the series." Shannon Cooper, the VP of Programming at Sundance Now also had high praise for the production, telling Variety "‘Far North’ is an exact delivery on Sundance Now’s promise of providing our audiences with high-quality, thought-provoking, incredibly well-acted and captivating programming. This story only gets more interesting with each new piece of discovery."
Morrison and Malcolm each bring strong resumes into the series even beyond the former's turn as Boba Fett. Before starring in the Disney+ series, Morrison had a solid relationship with Star Wars, originating the role of Jango Fett for Attack of the Clones. Going back further, his career really took off after his starring role in the 1994 film Once Were Warriors. He's also known as Aquaman's father Tom Curry in DC films and is set to appear in the upcoming The Flash film and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Malcolm, meanwhile, is best known in her native New Zealand where she started her rise to local stardom on the soap opera Shortland Street before taking her defining role in Outrageous Fortune. She's received some award buzz in her home country, particularly for her role in Serial Killers. Her acting prowess also earned her a small role in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Morrison's latest starring role.