Moana…is back. Again. Hey, you can hardly blame Disney for seeing how far the franchise will go, considering the recent Lilo & Stitch made over $1B. And now today Disney has revealed the first trailer for the live-action remake starring newcomer Catherine Laga’aia in the titular role and Dwayne Johnson, who finally gets to play the demigod Māui for real this time.
The new trailer reveals how closely each shot is to the original, basically a frame-by-frame redo. However, the visuals are a mixed bag. The Rock looks kinda corny with his long hair as Maui, and some shots have a mediocre green screen look to them. On the hand, the breathtaking island locale and oceanic sweep are just too good, and the reason why remaking Moana in live-action is so appealing.
Also in the cast are John Tui as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Sina, and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala.
The film is directed by Thomas Kail, best known for directing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Jared Bush (Zootopia 2) and Dana Ledoux Miller wrote the screenplay.
If I’ve learned anything from the recent How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake, it’s not to shut out the possibility of these films being just as good as their predecessors. After an impressive teaser last year, I’m less sold on Moana, but still have hope it lives up to the original.
Moana opens in theaters on July 10th 2026.
