With The Little Mermaid proving to be a massive box office hit over Memorial Day Weekend, Disney has no incentive to slow down any time soon when it comes to live-action remakes of hit animated films, and one project that is moving particularly quickly is Moana. It was less than two months ago that the movie was announced as being in the works (with Dwayne Johnson on board to reprise his role as Maui), and now it officially has someone steering the ship, as Thomas Kail has been brought on to direct.
The news of this hiring comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which notes that while the filmmaker doesn't have a great deal of experience in making feature films, he has some special experience in the world of musicals. He is the Tony Award-winning director of Broadway’s Hamilton, and he has been nominated for multiple Emmys for his work on the shows Fosse/Verdon and Grease Live! It's now the second link that Moana has to Hamilton, as fans will remember that the original songs in the Walt Disney Animation Studios film were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
