In April, Dwayne Johnson announced he’d team up with Disney for a live-action Moana remake., and now we’ve learned he is one of the only original actors returning.
Taking to social media, actress Auli’i Cravalho has confirmed she won’t be returning to the role of Moana. Cravalho voiced the iconic Disney princess in the 2016 film, which earned solid reviews and $683 million worldwide. She will return to the project however in the role of an executive producer.
In her Instagram post, she explains: “When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career. In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell.”
“I can’t wait to find the next actress to portray Moana’s courageous spirit, undeniable wit, and emotional strength,” she continues. “I’m truly honored to pass this baton to the next woman of Pacific Island descent to honor our incredible Pacific peoples, cultures, and communities that help inspire her story, and I look forward to all the beautiful Pacific representation to come. Mahalo.”
Check out the post below…
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The new feature film is produced by Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia via their Seven Bucks Productions and Beau Flynn via Flynn Picture Co. Executive producers include Auli’i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the 2016 film, and Scott Sheldon of Flynn Picture Co. Jared Bush and Samoan industry pro Dana Ledoux Miller will also take part in the production. Bush, who was a director and co-writer of Disney’s Oscar®-winning feature “Encanto” and a writer and co-director on Disney’s Oscar®-winning film “Zootopia,” wrote the screenplay for 2016’s “Moana.”
There’s no release date for the remake at the time of writing.
