Moana' Live-Action Trailer Reveals The Rock As Gruelingly Transformed Maui With Star-Studded Cast Return
On Monday, Disney released a new trailer for its upcoming live-action version of Moana featuring Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as the demigod. While Catherine Lagaʻaia takes on her first lead performance in this remake alongside an expanded cast including James Corden and Jack Dylan Grazer's return from The Lion King, critics have noted that "The Rock" is undergoing a dramatic physical transformation to portray Maui accurately without relying solely on CGI effects for his iconic tattoos.
Key Points
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1Disney has released new trailers for its live-action adaptation of Moana featuring Dwayne Johnson as Maui and Catherine Lagaʻaia in lead.
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2The original animated film was a global hit, but the remake is facing backlash from fans regarding cultural representation and production quality.
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3Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson revealed he underwent significant physical transformation to portray his character live-action for this project.
Developments
Fans question Disney's live-action *Moana* remake for potentially trading animation's expressive magic with muted realism due to "remake fatigue." Concerns also focus on recreating the character of Maui without appearing uncanny and maintaining vibrant cultural details in a project released just over ten years after the original.
Disney has released the first trailer for its upcoming *Moana* live-action adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson as Maui and newcomer Catherine Lagaʻia. The film is directed by Thomas Kail, produced with contributions from Lin-Manuel Miranda on music, and scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 10 (24 March).
Disney released a new live-action Moana film starring Catherine Lagaʻaia and Dwayne Johnson, featuring familiar scenes from the original movie with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda directed by Thomas Kail. The production team includes several cast members who worked on previous Disney projects or voiced characters in animated versions of *Moana*, while Auliʻi Cravalho returns to voice Moana alongside her father John Tui and mother Sina (Frankie Adams).
Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga'aia are set to star as Maui and Moana respectively in a new Disney live-action film directed by Thomas Kail with the script written by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, scheduled for release on July 10, 2026. To portray his character authentically during water scenes involving up to seven pounds of wet hair prosthetics plus an additional forty-pound body transformation was required from Johnson's performance perspective
Disney has released the latest trailer for its live-action *Moana* remake featuring Dwayne Johnson as Maui. The film follows Moana on her quest to return Te Fitti's heart after crops and fish die in 2016, with a new version of Maui who weighed down by prosthetics during filming due to his large size compared to the original character he voiced previously (though this is not explicitly stated as "previously" - just that Johnson played Maui).