‘Moana’ Comes to Life in First Live Action Trailer

Disney has just released its first peek at one of its most highly anticipated live-action remakes yet, and it looks exactly as you’d expect. Moana, the hit 2016 animated film, is coming to life next summer, and now you can see what star Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana—and a little bit of Dwayne Johnson as Maui—looks like in real life.

Thomas Kail, who directed a little show called Hamilton, is at the helm, and he seems to have captured much of what the animated film looked like, down to the living water, the Kakamora, and of course, that beloved demigod himself. Here’s the first tease.

That sure does look like Moana, doesn’t it? Very on the nose. Almost a little too on the nose. Almost, “YouTube fake trailer†on the nose. But the film is still nine months from release, so surely, there will be much, much more work on it in the coming months.

Plus, if this year’s Lilo and Stitch remake proved anything, it’s that audiences don’t necessarily care what these Disney live-action remakes look like. As long as they provide the same chills and thrills as the original movie, with all the same songs and moments they know from their childhood, which they can now pass to their kids, it’s fine. And that’s what Moana looks like. It’s just that, usually, it doesn’t happen within a single decade.

In addition to Laga’aia and Black Adam, the Moana cast features John Tui as Moana’s father, Chief Tui; Frankie Adams as Moana’s mother, Sina; and Rena Owen as Moana’s grandma, Tala.

Moana opens July 10, 2026, which puts it right between Minions 3 and The Odyssey. It’s going to be a wild summer. Do you think Moana has a shot to be the highest-grossing film of the season? Let us know below.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.