KUALA LUMPUR: Aquaman star Jason Momoa says he can't start shooting Aquaman 2 right now.
It's because the actor recently "got run over by a bulldozer" while protesting against the construction of a giant telescope on land considered sacred to Native Hawaiians.
American entertainment magazine The Wrap reported on Sunday that Momoa told the film's producers Warner Bros that he was still involved in a protest movement against the telescope at Mauna Kea, the highest point of Hawaii.
"Sorry Warner Bros we can't shoot Aquaman 2," he wrote in an Instagram post last Sunday.
"Because I got run over by a bulldozer trying to stop the desecration of my native land. This is not happening. We are not letting you do this anymore. Enough is enough. Go somewhere else."
In a follow-up post, Momoa asked fans to support the @protectmaunakea movement which he is involved in.
He wrote: "During this time, we are trying to unite Pacific Islanders and Hawaii-born people to protect our way of life and natural resources."
Momoa has been protesting on Mauna Kea for weeks in an effort to stop the major construction for the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT), a US$1.4 billion (about RM5.9 billion) scientific project underwritten by universities in California and Canada as well as partners in China, India and Japan.
His fellow action hero Dwayne Johnson has also been protesting the construction of the telescope and last month, he made a surprise visit to the dormant volcano.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the volcano top was selected as the site of the telescope in 2009. In 2014, protesters disrupted the blessing ceremony, and in 2015 protestors were arrested for blocking construction work. Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled that the construction was legal.
Momoa is set to reprise his role as the DC Comics superhero in Aquaman 2 which is slated to hit cinemas on Dec 16 next year.
The first Aquaman film grossed US$1.15 billion (about RM4.83 billion) and was directed by James Wan.