Disney has been remaking their animated films with live-action movies for the better part of the last fifteen years, creating an entirely new cottage industry from their film library as they revived classic cartoons to the tune of billions of dollars at the box office. Most of Disney’s live-action remakes have been of titles that were decades old, hits like Aladdin, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast getting new life long after hte original films had been released. Now, though, Disney is going to test the audience with a live-action remake of a title that’s not all that old, and one still getting sequels, Moana.
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Announced two years ago as being in the works, Disney has finally released the first teaser trailer for the new Moana. In the film, Dwayne Johnson reprises his role of the trickster demigod Maui, which he played in the animated movies, with a brief glimpse of him seen in the teaser. He’s joined in the film by Catherine Lagaสปaia as Moana, taking over the role from Auliสปi Cravalho, who voiced the character in the two animated movies (and Ralph Breaks the Internet). Check it out for yourself below!
Live-Action Moana Recreates Iconic Moments From Animated Movie
Though clocking in at less than one minute long, the live-action Moana movie trailer is quick to hit the high notes and reveal to the audience that their favorite moments from the animated film are happening. Several scenes in the trailer reveal direct recreations of these classic scenes from the 2016 animated movie, like the Young Moana on the beach, the people of Motunui as they travel the ocean, the Kakamora (the tiny coconut pirates), and even Moana’s chicken sidekick, Heihei, who appears unchanged from the animated film itself.
It’s worth noting that the arrival of the live-action Moana teaser trailer is not an accident by Disney, and even though the film doesn’t release in theaters until July 10, 2026, this week has given the studio the prime opportunity to reveal the new movie to the world. On Friday, Wicked: For Good will be released in theaters, one of the biggest blockbusters of the holiday season and one that will have a lot of overlap with Moana’s intended audience. As a result, Disney releasing the live-action Moana trailer now is one of the smartest moves they’ve made ahead of their 2026 release slate.
That said, the new Moana movie does present a unique challenge for Disney compared to their other live-action remakes of animated movies. In the past, most of these films were long done and the remaking of them did not infringe on any current plans within the series. Moana, on the other hand, just released a sequel movie last year to the tune of $1.059 billion globally. As a result, the franchise may very well continue to live on in both live-action and animation, with two different continuities happening at the same time. Audiences may accept this quickly, but it’s not something Disney has had to reckon with in their other live-action remakes.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
