Dwayne Johnson Fires Back at Disney Fans Who Think The Live-Action MOANA Remake Came Too Soon
When Disney announced it was making a live-action version of Moana, a lot of fans had the same reaction: "Wait... already?" The animated film only hit theaters in 2016, and unlike many of Disney's other remakes, it hasn't exactly faded from the spotlight.
It's still an incredibly popular film, which led plenty of people to wonder why Disney didn't let it breathe a little longer. Dwayne Johnson has heard all of those complaints, and as far as he's concerned, the timing has never been an issue.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the Los Angeles premiere of Moana, Johnson pushed back on the criticism that Disney rushed into the remake. Compared to many of the studio's previous live-action adaptations, it's easy to see why fans brought it up.
The original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuted in 1937 before finally getting a live-action remake in 2025. The Lion King returned in its photorealistic form in 2019, 25 years after the beloved 1994 animated movie, while The Little Mermaid waited more than 30 years before making the leap to live action in 2023.
Moana, on the other hand, is getting the live-action treatment just 10 years after the animated movie first sailed into theaters.
Johnson doesn't think that matters. He said: “To be honest with you, I never bought into this idea that ‘You have to wait 20 years, you have you wait 30 years, it’s too soon.'
“I honestly never did, and not because I’m biased and I made the film, but because there’s themes and values in this, in animated Moana, that could translate really well if you saw a real human being going through it, and a real young girl going through it.”
It's an understandable perspective. The heart of Moana has always been its story about courage, family, and discovering who you are. Johnson believes those themes work just as well with live actors as they did in animation.
Disney's official synopsis reads: “In Disney’s live-action reimagining of the beloved Oscar®-nominated animated adventure, Moana answers the Ocean’s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.”
Johnson returns as Maui, the larger-than-life demigod he originally voiced, while Catherine Laga’aia steps into the title role as Moana. The cast also includes Rena Owen as Gramma Tala, John Tui as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Sina, and Jemaine Clement voices Tamatoa, the giant, treasure-hoarding coconut crab.
Whether this remake wins over skeptical fans remains to be seen. But the first round of reactions from critics have not been kind to the live action remake. The movie is being torn apart.
Disney has found plenty of success with its live-action reimaginings, but Moana is definitely one of its quickest turnarounds. Still, if the movie captures the same sense of adventure and heart that made the animated version such a fan favorite, audiences may not be too concerned about how many years have passed.
We'll see how it all plays out when Moana arrives in theaters on July 10, 2026.