The first trailer for Disney’s live-action Moana movie has been released. The original animated film, released in 2016, earned $687.2 million at the box office and received a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Moana 2, initially envisioned as a TV show, was dropped in 2024 but wasn’t as well-received by critics, earning a 60% RT score.
Now Disney is revisiting the 2016 film in a live-action remake of Moana, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui. Disney just released the trailer for the live-action movie, which will arrive in theaters in July 2026, 10 years after its animated counterpart first made waves all over the world.
The teaser centers on the titular character, Moana, played by Catherine Laga’aia, who starts singing “I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors),” as various shots from the film are shown, including a younger Moana standing by the ocean as the waves rise up around her.
As the music transitions into “How Far I’ll Go,” the video reveals a very quick glimpse of Johnson’s return as Maui. The demigod can be seen shapeshifting from a beetle into his human form, as well as a scene of him diving off a cliff and shapeshifting into an eagle, but the teaser only shows him from the back.
Presumably, Disney is saving his reveal for the full-length trailer. While the Moana teaser is somewhat coy about Maui’s appearance, it does reveal the coconut pirates known as the Kakamora. Moana swings up a rope on the ship to try to escape from the Kakamora. The teaser ends with Moana on the boat as she belts out the final line of the song “I Am Moana.” Check out the teaser trailer (via The Rock‘s YouTube channel) below:
Along with Laga’aia and Johnson, the live-action Moana cast includes John Tui, Frankie Adams, and Rena Owen. Thomas Kail, who directed the pop culture phenomenon Hamilton on Broadway, is the director, with Johnson also on board as a producer.
Kail isn’t the only connection that Moana has to Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created and starred in the Broadway musical, co-wrote the music for the original 2016 film, including songs like “How Far I’ll Go and “You’re Welcome.”
The multi-hyphenate talent is returning to the world of Moana for the live-action remake. His work on Mufasa: The Lion King prevented him from being the songwriter for Moana 2.
Moana is the latest animated film to receive a live-action remake from Disney, after Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Cruella, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and Lilo & Stitch.
Moana will be released in theaters on Friday, July 10, 2026.
- Release Date
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July 10, 2026
- Director
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Thomas Kail
- Writers
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Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell, Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller