Moana representation – Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga’aia tie the legacy of Moana’s 2016 breakthrough to what audiences—and young Polynesian viewers—feel in real time, ahead of the live-action remake opening July 10.
The first time Dwayne Johnson stepped back onto the set as Maui a decade after Moana’s 2016 release, he didn’t describe it as nostalgia. He called it a reminder.
“The character of Maui was inspired by my grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia,” Johnson said, and that detail landed differently when he spoke about returning to a role shaped by family and heritage.
Moana. the animated musical released in 2016. arrived with a clear purpose: following Moana—voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho—who is the daughter of a village chief and sets out on an adventure to restore a mystical relic to the goddess Te Fiti. The film became known for breaking barriers and for championing representation, including a rare depiction of Polynesian culture on screen. Viewers also saw Disney’s first Polynesian princess.
Now the live-action remake is set to continue that journey, directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton), with theaters on July 10.
For the people involved, the stakes aren’t abstract. Catherine Laga’aia—19. and starring in the upcoming live-action Moana—said she’s felt the difference representation makes from the inside out. She described how growing up with the 2016 film shaped her in a way “a lot of people didn’t get to experience when they were growing up.”.
“To have a representation of myself that was so close to who I was, especially when I was growing up, it opens new doors for you, and it got me here today,” she said during Fandango’s Big Ticket interview.
Johnson pointed to how the remake tried to protect that same cultural care. He and Laga’aia both highlighted the inclusion of cultural advisors on set as part of the project’s approach.
“Everybody involved with this project, they were so deeply invested in not only making a great movie, but also deeply invested in the presentation of a culture and how important that was,” Johnson said.
For Johnson. returning to Maui also came with a strange kind of clarity—because the character’s meaning didn’t stop with the actor. After the film wrapped in his retelling. Johnson said he noticed young children on set looking up to Laga’aia. mesmerized by her presence. Then he realized what that moment meant.
“It dawned on me,” Johnson said. “They’ve grown up with animated Moana, and for them, this is who it is… That’s the reminder.”
That idea—who young viewers see themselves becoming—sits at the center of Laga’aia’s own hope for the remake. She described casting as almost “a full-circle moment. ” stepping into the lead role now so that a new generation of young Polynesian audiences can once more see themselves and their culture “accurately and lovingly depicted on screen. ” this time in live action.
Laga’aia said the role carries an added personal weight:
“Getting to represent all of the Pacific Islands — but more specifically for me, getting to represent Samoa and where I come from — is such a blessing and it’s such an honor.” she said. “I can really only hope that our movie gets to do that for the next generation of kids.”
In the end, Moana isn’t only moving from animation to live action. It’s moving deeper into the lives of the people who grew up watching it, and the people who are just now old enough to recognize themselves in it.
Moana opens in theatres on July 10.
Moana live-action Moana Catherine Laga'aia Dwayne Johnson Maui Polynesian culture representation Thomas Kail July 10