Despite still fresh in audiences’ minds, Disney has confirmed a Moana live-action remake is officially in development. The original Disney film centered on the daughter of a Polynesian village chief who must set out to find the demigod Maui in the hopes of saving her people by reuniting a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti. Auli’i Cravalho led the star-studded cast of Moana as the eponymous heroine alongside Dwayne Johnson as Maui, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement and Alan Tudyk.
Just over six years after the original film hit theaters, Dwayne Johnson took to Twitter with a surprise announcement, later released by Disney, that a Moana live-action remake is in the works at the studio.
The video, as seen above, sees Johnson revealing the live-action reimagining to be in the works at the studio as they look to capitalize on the real Samoan locations that inspired the original film. Johnson also seemingly confirmed that he will be returning to play Maui in the upcoming Moana remake. See what original star Auli‘i Cravalho wrote about the remake in a statement below:
She has had such a profound impact on how we think of Disney princesses. Moana’s strength and perseverance are inspiring—to audiences around the world, to me and to everyone who helped bring her to life. I’m looking forward to sharing her story in a whole new way.
Why The Moana Remake Is Breaking Disney’s Live-Action Trend
In addition to reportedly reprising his role of Maui, Johnson will be producing the live-action Moana remake with his producing partners Dany and Hiram Garcia via their Seven Bucks Productions banner as well as frequent collaborator Beau Flynn via Flynn Picture Co. While it’s unclear whether she will reprise the eponymous role, Cravalho is returning as an executive producer on the film with original writer Jared Bush also being involved in the remake’s development in an unspecified capacity.
The announcement of a Moana live-action remake marks a surprising break in Disney’s recent trend of remakes in that it is the most recent animated feature to be adaptated for the live-action format. Prior to this project, the shortest gap between a Disney animated movie’s release and its live-action remake was that of Mulan, with a modest 22 years separating the adaptations. While no release date has been set by Disney yet, or a timeline on when filming will begin, the Moana live-action remake is not even a decade from its Oscar-nominated original.
Sources: Disney/Dwayne Johnson/Twitter
