Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak pretty much every production. Since March, animators have been working remotely, communicating through ZOOM and other platforms to keep the Southeast Asia-influenced adventure on track. During that time, there have also been a number of big changes since the film was first announced last year, and it starts with Star Wars actor Kelly Marie Tran taking over the lead voice role.
Tran replaces Cassie Steele in the role of Raya, a lone warrior seeking help from an evil force that threatens the fantasy king of Kumandra. The previously-confirmed Awkwafina voices Sisu, a dragon in human form who needs Raya’s help to reclaim her true power.
EW has debuted a new image from the film, the first to be fully-rendered in CGI. It comes with news of more changes at the top, with Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6 director Don Hall taking over, joined by Blindspotting filmmaker Carlos Lopez Estrada. The latter was recently named as director of Disney’s live-action Robin Hood.
