Disney’s live-action Moana remake is set for a July 10, 2026 release, arriving with Dwayne Johnson back as Maui and new original music from Lin-Manuel Miranda. With a 120-minute runtime and Thomas Kail directing, the studio is betting on a familiar story as re
Disney’s next big theatrical test doesn’t land in a vacuum. It arrives right after years of live-action remakes that have swung between blockbuster highs and disappointing returns—and this time, the studio is putting its faith in a title audiences already love.
The live-action Moana remake is scheduled to hit theaters on July 10, 2026. It will run 120 minutes and is directed by Thomas Kail, the theater director known for his work with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
For Disney, the stakes feel clear. In the last few years, the studio’s live-action remake pipeline has been hit by declining returns. Some of the earliest outings still found massive global audiences: Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast each grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. But more recent remakes have landed less smoothly. The Little Mermaid wasn’t as successful as the top earners that came before it. and Snow White grossed just over $200 million worldwide against a reported budget of $336 million.
Now, Moana is being positioned as a stabilizer.
A decade after the original animated Moana earned terrific reviews and grossed nearly $700 million worldwide, Disney is bringing the story to live action with familiar faces returning. Dwayne Johnson is back as Maui. Lin-Manuel Miranda is also returning with new original songs.
The new lead is Catherine Laga’aia, who will play the titular character.
The animated film isn’t just a cultural reference point for Disney—it’s also a performance track record. Moana received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature and currently holds a “Certified Fresh” score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus describes Moana as a family-friendly adventure. praising how the title character feels “three-dimensional” and how the story adds “fresh depth” to Disney’s time-tested formula.
Disney is launching this remake at a tightly packed moment in the summer movie calendar. The live-action Moana is set to open one week before Universal releases Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. It will also arrive three weeks before Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
A familiar story is meeting an unpredictable market. Disney has had megahit energy with some live-action remakes—and cold receptions with others. With Moana. the question for next month is whether audiences will respond the same way to what’s promised as both a recognizable adventure and something new. delivered at the front edge of the competition.
Disney Moana remake live-action Moana Dwayne Johnson Catherine Laga’aia Lin-Manuel Miranda Thomas Kail July 10 2026 Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh 95%