Moana star Auli’i Cravalho will not be returning for the upcoming live-action remake of the 2016 film. Cravalho played the title character, a young woman who is destined to become chief of her island but longs for adventure on the wide ocean and teams up with the untrustworthy demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) when a mythical force threatens her home. The film is being developed into a live-action remake with both Cravalho and Johnson on board as executive producers and Johnson slated to return as Maui.
Today, Cravalho posted a video on her Instagram, which can be seen below, discussing the Moana live-action remake.
She revealed that, though Johnson will be reprising his original role, the part of Moana will be going to a new actor. She said it is important to her that casting accurately reflect the characters at the center of the story and that “I am truly honored to pass this baton to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent.“
Disney Has Yet To Have a Main Character Reprise Their Role
Although Disney live-action remakes have become common in recent years, the company has never had the lead character be portrayed by the original voice actor. Largely, this has been because the remakes have come decades after the originals, in some cases a half-century or more. While there is a shorter time frame between the original Moana and the remake, Cravalho is no longer 14 years old like her iconic character.
However, Moana‘s Dwayne Johnson return isn’t the first time they’ve had a voice actor make the transition to live-action. Their 2019 remake of The Lion King (which is still their highest-grossing live-action remake) featured James Earl Jones reprising his original role as Simba’s father Mufasa. The upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch remake will also feature the return of Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch as well as original Nani voice actor Tia Carrere, though she will be playing a different role this time around.
Moana could still very well feature Cravalho onscreen in some capacity, even if it’s only a cameo, though only time will tell as the film progresses further in development. With many live-action remakes at least featuring fun cameos for nostalgic purposes, it makes sense for her not to reprise the lead and allow a new actor the opportunity to take charge of the upcoming blockbuster, but still have a passing-of-the-baton moment.
