While Dwayne Johnson is slated to reprise his role as Maui in the upcoming Moana remake, the original star Auli’i Cravalho will not reprise her role as the titular character. However, she is still helping Disney as an executive producer and plans to help find the right actress for the role.
Cravalho explains in an Instagram video the importance of Moana and how it continues to play a role in her life and culture since she was cast in it as a fourteen-year-old. To her, the story of Moana is essential to her as a Pacific Islander “to honor our incredible peoples, cultures, and communities that help inspire her story.” Because of this, she is eagerly searching for another Pacific Island actress that can fill the titular princess role and help share her people’s culture. “I believe it is absolutely vital the casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell,” Cravalho explains.
The upcoming remake is the first live-action project where Disney is remaking one of their 21st-century films, soon to be followed up by the Lilo and Stitch remake. During a Disney shareholder meeting in April, Dwayne Johnson shared the news for this remake, discussing the story’s importance for his culture. “This story is my culture,” Johnson said, “and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength.”
Johnson is set to produce the film alongside Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Beau Flynn through his production company Seven Seas Productions and the latter’s Flynn Picture Co. Currently, the film has no slated director, though original screenwriter Jared Bush is returning to write for this remake.
Leave a Comment