Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho To Return For Live-Action Reimagining of Disney’s Moana
The Ocean chose…. more Moana!
In a recorded message from Hawaii, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed that a live-action reimagining of Disney Animation’s 2016 hit feature film Moana is in development.
Johnson will reprise his role as the exiled demigod Maui, as well as serve as a producer. “I’m deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen. This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me,” he said in a press release. “I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavor, because there is no better world for us to honor the story of our people, our passion and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people.”
Meanwhile Auli’i Cravalho, who was discovered at the age of 16 to play the iconic role of Moana, will return to executive produce and help find the next young actress to pass the baton on to as Moana. “She has had such a profound impact on how we think of Disney princesses,” Cravalho said. “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.”
During a press junket for the Hulu film Crush, Kristen Maldonado of Pop Culture Planet spoke with Cravalho about making her acting debut in Moana. “I'm such a critic of my own, like I'll watch myself in Crush or in any other film, and I immediately look at my face and I'm like, ‘I don't believe you.’ Or sometimes I'll look at something that my hands do… I'm like, ‘What are you doing with your hands?’ But I'm getting better at it and I love the honesty that I get to portray. Instead of a character, which is what for me voiceover is — it is a character voice, you have to do the most with your voice because otherwise you can't see it,” she told us. “For live-action, I almost feel like I have to practice doing less. What I love most about acting now is that it's more of a thought process like, how deeply embedded in thought can I get with my character?”
While we wait for the live-action film, you can watch the original animated Moana on Disney+.
