Disney’s live-action remakes weren’t always successful, but the House of Mouse pushes forward with more of them. The next one is Moana.
Pushed for a release this summer after the sequel hit theaters in November 2024, the new live-action movie will bring back Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui with a different protagonist. Catherine Laga‘aia portrays the character in the live-action remake. However, the live-action Moana comes with a surprise original song, which will bring back the voice of Moana, Auli’i Cravalho, Disney confirms.
Moana Will Have an Original Song
The new original song comes from Lin-Manuel Miranda, and it’s titled “Along the Way.” Moana is known for the iconic “How Far I’ll Go,” but the live-action remake has a new opportunity to set itself apart, especially as “Along the Way” will have the voices of both Cravalho and Laga’aia.
Miranda, who wrote the music for the 2016 animated film, shared about the live-action, “It was such a joy to drop back into the world of Moana again and write “Along The Way.” Auliʻi and Catherine’s voices blend so beautifully, and writing for Dwayne as Maui is just pure fun. I’m grateful that we were able to create something special for this brand-new version of our wayfinder’s story.”
He explained, “What’s really wonderful is Auli’i is a producer on this film. So we thought, what if there’s a musical conversation between Auli’i Moana and Katie’s Moana? That became the idea for the song.”
In the new featurette, Johnson explained, “For the live-action Moana, we all agreed that Lin-Manuel Miranda should write one more song.” Johnson is also part of the song as Maui.
The director of the live-action version, Thomas Kail, detailed that the intension was to “do something that could be distinct” in the new version. “We thought, ‘What if both Moanas sing?'”
The live-action adaptation features music by Mark Mancina, Miranda and Opetaia Foa’i; Mancina returned to score the film.
Moana Is a Billion-Dollar Franchise
The summer blockbuster season has already kicked off, with Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day exceeding expectations. Disney gets several chances at a billion-dollar movie, with its Pixar returning with Toy Story 5, as well as the upcoming Moana.
So far, Moana has been a tremendous hit. The 2016 animated film, which introduced the Polynesian Disney Princess, grossed $687.2 million worldwide against a budget around $150 million, and it turned into an instant classic. A sequel was long delayed, as it was supposed to turn into a television series on Disney+.
However, in 2024, it was revealed that Disney reworked it into a theatrical sequel. Moana 2 was a huge hit and grossed $1.059 billion worldwide, turning it into a billion-dollar franchise.
The live-action remake had a budget of $200 million+, and it needs at least $500 million to break even. However, considering how successful Moana 2 has been, it’s likely the live-action will be a hit, too.
The live-action Moana comes out in theaters on July 10.
- Release Date
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July 10, 2026
- Runtime
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120 Minutes
- Director
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Thomas Kail