For years, Disney has been reimagining its animated canon of classics, to the delight of audiences around the world. With the 2023 new movie releases including the company’s latest effort through The Little Mermaid, that legacy is about to yet again delight fans far and wide. But thanks to this morning’s big shareholders meeting, a special video from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has announced that a live-action Moana is already in the works.
Well, it’s unfortunately too early to tell. However, it’s not too early to see The Rock making this heartfelt Walt Disney Studios announcement, with his two young daughters present to help out. As Johnson mentioned in his Moana announcement, the project is currently in its early phases. So there’s no casting to announce just yet.
At the moment, we don’t know if Dwayne Johnson will be reprising his role as Maui, but he will be producing the film with his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. A reaction to this announcement from original Moana writer Jared Bush also revealed some more key talent that’s on board for this seafaring spectacle, as you’ll see below:
Cheehoo!!! So excited that not only is #Moana LIVE-ACTION happening, but that this story, so close to my heart, will be brought to life by an absolute dream team, including dear friends at Disney Animation, my stunt double @therock, EP @auliicravalho - (now my boss!), members of… pic.twitter.com/Se1wdJk86hApril 3, 2023
As you can see, the original driving forces behind Moana will be present for her brand new live-action adventure. Bush will be co-writing the new film with Dana Ledoux Miller, whose most recent credit comes from the Netflix Thai Cave Rescue documentary. Also of note, but certainly no less important, is the fact that Moana’s lead actor herself, Auli‘i Cravalho, will serve as one of the live-action adaptation’s executive producers.
This fanfare leads to some pretty big questions, as a new lease on life for Moana could have some side effects. Mainly, the potential for an animated Moana sequel, as well as its planned Disney+ series, could be something fans should look out for on the road ahead. Making a live-action adaptation of the 2018 film so soon feels like a move that could entail a change of venue for the potential franchise, which could lead to some Star Wars style setbacks
Though we can’t say with any sort of authority how loyal to Moana this new movie will be, or if Dwayne Johnson will return as Maui, this is still an exciting development. At this point, it would be a bit of a surprise for Johnson to not return to the role, as his involvement this early in development suggests his usual hands on approach will be in play. That, and thanks to the development of Jungle Cruise 2 keeping him close to the Disney family, it could be a sweetener to getting Johnson to return to the hair and the bod he helped make famous.
If you're feeling nostalgic for the animated version of Moana, don't fret. A Disney+ subscription will cure those blues faster than you can say "thank you." As for those of you anticipating the next Disney live-action adaptation, you can watch The Little Mermaid's trailer to prepare yourself for the May 26th debut in theaters.
