#Moana Live Action

[trendfilmsetter]

Leaked images of Dwayne Johnson as Maui in the live action MOANA film.

Expected to release in theaters July 2026

[lily-s-world]

Disney Execs: Ideas for our next live action project!

Fans: How about Atlantis or Treasure Planet? They both have a strong fan base and a reboot will allow people to give these stories another chance. Besides, fans have been asking them for years.

Disney Execs: Nah... We are not doing that. We are remaking Moana.

Fans:

[theblueeyedbelle]

Meet Catherine Laga’aia, the new Moana in the upcoming 2026 live action.

Look at that hair and that smile— she couldn’t be more perfect!

[linusonline]

[pickypickypeak]

moana live action cast: *is accurate to the original movie*

some people: no!!!! moana should be white!!!! maui should be a ginger!!!! the pig should be blue!!!!! disney is so racist!!!!!!

me:

[ang5289]

Ok y'all this is Catherine Laga'aia and she will be Moana in the Disney Live Action. I'm posting this to say that no one should be writing any hate comment towards her bc she is only 17 and we need to give her a chance. If no one is excited with a Moana live action bc Disney is running out of ideas that's not her fault and for me she looks like a Disney princess. We should respect her and give her support bc she will be targeted on internet.

[holmesandtheroman]

i swear on my fucking life if jemaine is not in the live-action moana remake i’m going to step in front of a bus bc what’s the fucking point if he isn’t my sparkly giant crab??????

[crystal-jack-asripines]

On the one hand, Moana getting a live-action remake is stupid as hell cuz 1) the original movie isn’t even a decade old, and 2) there’s literally an animated sequel show ALREADY IN THE WORKS. Why make another CGI nightmare when that product already has a sequel being created as we speak?!

But on the other hand, I’m seeing people trashing Auli’i for “not being Polynesian” and wanting her replaced, while other people are hardcore fancasting another girl WHO ISN’T POLYNESIAN AT ALL

Auli’i is Hawaiian, just cuz she isn’t dark-skinned or 100% Hawaiian doesn’t mean she doesn’t qualify for the role, fight me in real life on this I don’t care. I don’t know if she’ll be any good as Moana’s live-action version, but lets not fucking GATEKEEP BASED ON BLOOD PERCENTAGE

[cloversreblogs]

The “Moana” remake

So that Disney “Moana” live-action remake eh

And I’ve heard rumours that the Rock wants to be the star of the next big movie, hence why he is a key producer. On Disney’s side, Disney wants their next remake for their live-action Disney movies franchise. And I’ve also heard arguments that it’s a great way

If the Rock wants to be the star of the next big movie,

And Disney wants to franchise “Moana”,

And also tell Polynesian stories...

Why don’t Disney just make a Māui spinoff?

A Māui spinoff would have a lot of advantages over a live action film:

Māui has many myths attached to him, so there are a lot of storytelling possibilities. Not only this, but it would be great to hire some Polynesian writers and artists to not only retell myths, but also develop some new stories.

It has the creative potential of an original work, while still having the safety of being in a franchise.

It’s a flexible idea that can take the form of a standalone film, a TV series, or even a series of films. Yes, even a live-action spinoff if wanted. Hell, Disney’s loaded, maybe they can even make all of these at once.

The typical demographic of the live-action Disney remake demographic are typically 90s kids now with kids of their own who wantsto re-introduce them to the magic of Disney. “Moana” is only seven years old, and so don’t really fit this demographic. Instead, the original audiences of “Moana” want to see a sequel. So a spinoff would be the perfect way to fulfill that.

A Māui spinoff can be standalone and doesn’t need just “Moana” audiences.

As a case study, “Puss in Boots: the Last Wish” is another spinoff featuring another old-time Hollywood favourite, Antonio Banderas, to step back into the limelight. It was an unexpected but critically-acclaimed success solely built on how new and refreshing the story was. Not only this, but there are now new people who want a “Puss in Boots 3″, some of which have never seen the original “Puss in Boots” or even “Shrek”. The same can happen with a Māui spinoff with the right people involved.

I even pulled some pitches out of my ass to show just how many possibilities a Māui spinoff can have:

A TV series that tells Māui’s various myths. Each episode would be centred around one myth, and written by Polynesian writers. While it would use the same 2D style as “Tangled: the Series”, the creative design would be helmed by Polynesian artists, and overall be a work of Polynesian art. It can introduce new audiences to Māui’s myths, whether it’s young kids or even just fans of the original “Moana” movie. And it can be dubbed in many Polynesian languages, much like how “Moana” has been dubbed in Te Reo Māori, Hawaiian, and Tahitan, and tell Polynesian kids all about the feats of Māui.

A sequel movie about Māui finding his family, retelling the myth of “Māui finds his mother and family”. In lots of his legends Māui has family, so in the “Moana” universe, a sequel would be the perfect place to introduce them. While the myth itself is typically Māui’s backstory, it can be reworked to be the next step in Māui’s adventures. It has the dramatic hook (lol) of Māui and his mother reconciling their past, and also can introduce a new supporting cast.

A prequel movie about Māui’s and Tamatoa’s last battle, how Māui got his hook, and how Tamatoa tricked him to end up the deserted island in “Moana”. It can show Māui at the height of his fame, but also be a cautionary tale of hubris that shows why Māui got trapped on the island. This would also let Jemaine Clement to co-star, another famous Polynesian actor.

[chocobijou]

Kids who grew up watching Moana are not even done high school why are they making a live action?? What is the "new generation" Disney is making this movie for?

[trendfilmsetter]

The casting for the live action MOANA film has been revealed by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with production starting in August!

Catherine Laga’aia - Moana

Dwayne Johnson - Maui

John Tui - Chief Tui

Frankie Adams - Sina

Rena Owen - Gramma Tala

[elvencantation]

i’m too scared to even click on this

[firecat17]

Moana live-action remake wishes

So recently I found out that a live-action Moana remake is in the works a mere six years after the animated one was released. That being said, and given the nature of Disney’s live-action remakes, there are some expectations I have for it that I hope it meets (which I don’t have much faith in).

Not just expectations, but in fact ideas that would make the story more ideal. BTW, all of the following ideas are based on actual criticisms (and rightfully so) by actual Polynesian reviewers. 

First off, set it in an actual, non-fictional Polynesian location, like Samoa or Tonga (Samoa would be a good choice). By doing this, Disney can avoid making all the Polynesian cultures into a monolith. Monolithing is a racist, damaging practice that refers to taking multiple similar and geographically related cultures and blending them into one, giving the illusion that they are all interchangeable. Moana isn’t the only Disney movie guilty of this (*glares in the direction of Pocahontas, Raya and the Last Dragon*). Sure, it may not represent all the Polynesian cultures this way, but at least by doing so they can avoid making a monolith. Since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is Samoan, I’d (again) suggest setting it in ancient Samoa. Or if not Samoa itself, at least a nearby island directly related to Samoa. That means all the actors would ideally be Samoan. 

Second, hire an all (or nearly all) Polynesian production team; directors (unless one or two have already been chosen), producers, artists, designers, costumers, and more consultants than you can count. The animated movie was directed and made largely by white people.

Third, change Maui’s character. In the original Polynesian myths, Maui is described as a slender youth, whereas the movie made him into a large-figured middle-aged man. This image reinforces the harmful stereotype of Polynesians as obese. Now we know that Dwayne Johnson will be reprising the role, in which case Maui can’t exactly be young, nut at least he won’t be big. And that’s not all that needs to be changed. In the movie, Maui is made into the modern “American jerk” stereotype who relies solely on brute force and egoism (which is due to his tragic beginnings) to get by until he changes later in the movie. The mythological Maui is described as a flawed but well-meaning man who uses his resourcefulness to overcome obstacles and fulfill tasks. He can still have a tragic past and resulting insecurities, but that’s not an excuse for him to be an egotistical brute who doesn’t change for the better until later in the movie. By making both these changes, Maui can be truer to his mythological counterpart. 

Fourth, get rid of Tamatoa. Sorry Tamatoa fans, but he has to go. There are no Polynesian myths whatsoever that tell of a giant, flamboyant David Bowie crab who likes to sing anachronistic pop songs about how shiny he is. Replace him with an actual Polynesian mythological villain of some sort, one who DOESN’T get a modern glitzy David Bowie makeover.

Fifth, make all the songs authentically Polynesian. That means “You’re Welcome” and “Shiny” will have to go; they’re overly modern/American and are not only out of place in ancient Polynesia but also disrespectful. They can have some modern elements, such as being sung in English and having modern instruments, but remain true to Polynesian rhythm. Te Vaka, the famed Polynesian music sensation behind much of the animated movie’s soundtrack, will once again come in handy for such a task.

Sixth, change Te Kā’s character. Te Kā is widely inspired by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning and volcanoes. A Polynesian reviewer pointed out how culturally appropriative it was to make Pele into a villain. Te Fiti can still exist, but have her instead turn into something like a giant skeleton to represent death and chaos instead of a lava giant. I know a giant skeleton might be scary for the kids, but at least it won’t appropriate the figure of Pele. 

That’s all for now. Knowing Disney, I have almost zero faith in them to do these things, but it’s worth a shot. Feel free to discuss these ideas with me, and Polynesians are especially welcome to share what they think! 

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

I swear if they would make a live-action Moana, I definitely gonna die with characters. Plus, Tamatoa too if I said so...

[thehumanworldexplosionsound]

OMG yeah! The fact that they can use the same actors as the animated movie really says something about how fast they've sent it through

I know we all roast the Disney direct-to-video sequels but at least those were new stories which required some semblance of creativity on the part of the filmmakers, however half-assed they ended up being. Now they’re remaking movies that came out literally five minutes ago.