Disney has announced that Catherine Laga‘aia has been cast as Moana in the upcoming live-action remake.
The press release states that the 17-year-old Aussie actress will be voyaging to Motunui and beyond as the adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people.
“I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites,” said the up-and-coming star. “My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa. I’m honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.”
The cast also includes Auckland, New Zealander John Tui as Moana’s no-nonsense father, Chief Tui; Samoan-New Zealand actress Frankie Adams portrays Moana’s playful and strong-willed mother, Sina; and Rena Owen, who hails from Bay of Islands, NZ, was cast as the revered Gramma Tala.
Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as the demigod Maui from the animated film in live-action.
Releasing in theaters on July 10, 2026, Moana is directed by Thomas Kail, who helmed Hamilton on Broadway and Disney+, Grease Live and the first and last episodes of Hulu’s lauded limited series, We Were the Lucky Ones.
Said Kail, “I am thrilled to have met Catherine, Rena, Frankie and John through this casting process. I am humbled by this opportunity, and I cannot wait to all be on set together. And there’s no better pair to be in a canoe with than Catherine and Dwayne—actually, trio: Heihei is ready, too.”
Moana will bring to life in a whole new way the story of a young woman eager to pave her own path. Celebrating the islands, communities and traditions of Pacific Islanders in a spectacular adventure, the production begins filming this summer. The new feature film is produced by Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia via their Seven Bucks Productions and Beau Flynn via FlynnPictureCo.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the original songs, will also serve as producer. Executive producers include Scott Sheldon of FlynnPictureCo., Auli‘i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the 2016 film, and Charles Newirth. Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller have been tapped for the project.
Bush, a veteran of Disney Animation, wrote the screenplay for 2016’s Moana, and Miller is a Samoan writer who created Netflix’s Thai Cave Rescue and co-founded the non-profit Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK).