Disney Originally Planned On Using an A.I. Deepfake of Dwayne Johnson for Part of His Reprisal as Maui in Live-Action MOANA

Disney is moving forward with another live-action film, hoping to make a hit summer blockbuster with Moana, the story of the title princess who decides to set out on the ocean in the hopes of breaking the curse incurred by the demigod Maui.

Dwayne Johnson is returning to the role of Maui, but the busy actor was originally only going to shoot a handful of his scenes, with his role subsidized by his cousin and an advanced A.I. program.

In a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, it was revealed that the studio came up with a plan that included Johnson’s similarly built cousin, Tanoai Reed—who is 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds.

Reed would fill in as a body double for a small number of shots. Disney would work with AI company Metaphysic to create deepfakes of Johnson’s face that could be layered on top of Reed’s performance in the footage—a “digital double” that effectively allowed Johnson to be in two places at once.

Johnson approved the plan, but the use of the new technology had Disney attorneys pouring over all the details about how it could be deployed, what security precautions would protect the data and a host of other concerns. They also worried that the studio ultimately couldn’t claim ownership over every element of the film if AI generated parts of it, people involved in the negotiations said. 

Disney and Metaphysic spent 18 months negotiating on and off over the terms of the contract and work on the digital double. But none of the footage will be in the final film when it’s released next summer.

Ultimately, the executives and creatives could not come to a place in which a resolution could be reached with every question answered and everyone feeling comfortable. A.I. tech is certainly in our future, but there are still a lot of details to be ironed out before major studios are willing to take the plunge in its usage.

The report goes on to say that for Disney, protecting its characters and stories while also embracing new AI technology is key. “We have been around for 100 years and we intend to be around for the next 100 years,” said the company’s legal chief, Horacio Gutierrez, in an interview. “AI will be transformative, but it doesn’t need to be lawless.”

Moana is set to hit theaters on July 10, 2026.