Moana's Auli'i Cravalho out, Dwayne Johnson in for live-action remake

Auli'i Cravalho, who played the lead role of Moana in the 2016 film, will not be reprising her role in the upcoming live-action remake. The original film follows Moana, a young woman who dreams of exploring the vast ocean despite being destined to become the chief of her island. She joins forces with the demigod Maui (played by Dwayne Johnson) to save her home from a dangerous mythical force. The live-action version is currently in development, with Cravalho and Johnson serving as executive producers. Johnson is set to return as Maui, but Cravalho will not be involved in the project. Cravalho addressed the news in a recent Instagram video, which can be viewed below.

In the upcoming Moana sequel, it has been announced that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be returning to reprise his original role. However, the part of Moana will be portrayed by a new actor. This decision was made to ensure the casting accurately reflects the characters at the heart of the story. The creator of Moana, Lin-Manuel Miranda, expressed her excitement for this decision and stated that she is "truly honored to pass this baton to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent." It is worth noting that Disney has yet to have a main character reprise their role, making this announcement a historic moment for the studio.

Disney's live-action remakes have been a popular trend in recent years, but there has always been one notable difference: the lead character has never been portrayed by the original voice actor. This is largely due to the fact that most remakes have come decades after the original films, often with a significant time gap of 50 years or more. However, there is a shorter time frame between the original Moana and the upcoming live-action remake. Despite this, Auli'i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the original film, is no longer the 14-year-old girl she portrayed in the animated version.

Despite Moana's Dwayne Johnson reprising his role in the live-action adaptation, this isn't the first time that Disney has had a voice actor make the transition to live-action. In fact, their highest-grossing live-action remake, The Lion King (2019), featured James Earl Jones returning as Simba's father, Mufasa. Similarly, the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch remake will have Chris Sanders voicing Stitch once again, and Tia Carrere, the original Nani voice actor, will be playing a different role this time around.

While it's unclear whether Cravalho will make an onscreen appearance in Moana, even if it's just a brief cameo, it's possible that she could. Many live-action remakes include fun cameos for nostalgic purposes, and it would make sense for her to pass the baton to a new lead actor while still being involved in some capacity. As the film progresses further in development, we'll have to wait and see what surprises Disney has in store for us.