Dwayne Johnson found the actress for the live-action Disney
We have known for a while that Disney is planning to produce a remake of Moana in live-action version. If Dwayne Johnson will be back in this production, last May we learned that the actress who lent her voice to the heroine, Auli’i Cravalho, would not return to the front of the screen to play her character. But in a recent interview, the actor has just announced that the live-action film has finally found his replacement.
Disney prepares live-action remake of Moana
Vaiana: The Legend of the End of the World (Or Moana in original version) is the 56th animated classic from Disney studios released in 2016. In its cast, it is the young Auli’i Cravalho who lends her voice to the main character. She appeared alongside Dwayne Johnson who dubs the god Maui. Ultimately, the animated film exceeded $600 million at the global box office and was awarded a Grammy Award in 2018 for Best Song Written for a Visual Media with the title How Far I’ll Go performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Faced with success, Disney has announced a sequel but this time in a live-action version. The latter will be back for Moana 2 to take care of the film’s soundtrack and Tommy Kail, who directed Hammilton, will be behind the camera.
If we know that Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as God Maui this time in the flesh and not only through his voice, the mystery still hovers around the one who will play Vaiana. Logically, some spectators imagined that the one who lent her voice to the heroine would be there but it is clear that this will not be the case. Last May, in a post on Instagram, she declared that at the time of the casting, she was 14 years old and that today, aged 22, she preferred to see a teenager succeed her.
Actress for live-action finally found
In a recent interview for Entertainment Weekly Dwayne Johnson gave an update on the casting of this live-action adaptation. The actor said Moana had officially found her leading lady :
One of the most exciting things was finding our Moana. Between you and me, we found it but we won’t reveal it to you yet.
For its part, Disney has not yet made an official announcement. If among fans we imagine Eliana Su’a or Kea Peahu to succeed Auli’i Cravalho who will serve as producer in the project, it seems that the studios want a newcomer.
Besides Dwayne Johnson who will be back, it seems that Alan Tudyck who plays the rooster Heihei is also there.
For now, Moana in live-action is still scheduled to be released on June 27, 2025 but many believe that Disney could push back the release date further. And for discover the first images of Vaiana 2, click here.