Moana Trailer Reveals Dwayne Johnson's Live-Action Maui (And Some Really Ugly Visuals)

Another day, another trailer for a creatively bankrupt live-action Disney remake. 

Reading between the lines of the first teaser trailer for the live-action "Moana" movie, it seemed like a good bet that there were scant few artistic reasons to remake the beloved animated film of the same name (which came out less than 10 years ago, by the way, making this example especially egregious). Now, the full trailer is here, and, well, it's pretty much what you're expecting, except with more washed out colors. Great decision, team!

Disney has leaned hard on this strategy for the past 15+ years, and despite cinephiles dying a little inside every time another of these remakes is announced, the fact is that general audiences can't seem to get enough of them. The live-action version of "Lilo & Stitch" made an obnoxious amount of money at the box office, rewarding the studio for its boring and safe decision-making. Expect that train to continue rolling here, since the love for the original "Moana," coupled with the disappointing lack of movies aimed squarely at kids, will almost certainly result in this live-action movie making a boatload of cash of its own.

Let's put the decision-making that led to this project aside for a minute, take a step back, and look at what this film might have going for it. Catherine Laga'aia is making her film debut as Moana, and if all goes well, this could be the kind of star-making role that leads to decades of work for the young performer. (Although, for a bit of a reality check in that department, director Guy Ritchie's "Aladdin" made over a billion dollars globally, yet star Mena Massoud unfortunately joined the ranks of actors who struggled to find roles after appearing in successful films.) She, at least, appears to have a bit of verve as a performer that approaches her animated counterpart, so we're pulling for her. It's also nice to see other actors of Pacific Islander descent on screen here, since that demographic is frequently underserved or even flat-out ignored by the industry.

Thomas Kail, who directed both the stage version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's mega-successful "Hamilton" and the filmed version for Disney+, is making his proper feature directorial debut here. Considering his history with Miranda (who, remember, co-wrote the original songs for "Moana" and is returning here as a producer and a songwriter), maybe Kail will provide an inspired take on the story and have us eating our words about the lack of creativity on display. Probably not, but maybe!

And then, of course, there's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, reprising his role as Maui. Will the combination of "The Smashing Machine" failing at the box office and this film inevitably being a huge financial success cause him to retreat back into bland franchise roles? Or will he still be willing to take risks in the years ahead? Whatever the answer, this iteration appears to be severely lacking the charisma and energy he brought to the animated movie. It's almost like this whole thing was a bad idea from the start.

"Moana" swims into theaters on July 10, 2026.