Disney will be back in theaters this Summer with a live-action reimagining of Moana and we finally have our first look with a new trailer. The film stars newcomer Catherine Lagaʻaia as the titular adventurer and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Maui, reprising his role from the original animated film. 

The trailer, as expected, features familiar moments from the original. We see Moana learning about her history from her grandmother, Maui showing off his moving tattoos, and of course plenty of action-filled raft sequences.

Visually, it looks similar, but now in a live-action package, like many of Disney's recent remakes. What does seem to be new is that the film will feature original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who famously wrote the Oscar-nominated "How Far I'll Go" from the original.

Disney fans love their Disney music, and the inclusion of new songs is a great way to entice people to see a version of a film they've seen already. 

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"Couldn't imagine it without The Rock! This is going to be insane. I can't wait!," said one fan on Disney's Instagram.

The Rock joins a select few actors to play both the animated and live-action version of the character. Sometimes when an actor fully embodies a character, it's hard to imagine them being portrayed by anyone else. That's not the only reason people have been talking about The Rock, though. Many fans have commented how The Rock's wig doesn't quite look natural on his follically-challenged head. This seems to be a trend amongst recent Disney trailers. 

"Disney got too much money to have Dwayne in that Freetress shake-and-go synthetic wig in the live action Moana trailer," said Twitter/X user @geauxgabrielle. 

Even Weird Al got in on the bit.

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Putting the wig aside, some fans feel this movie is coming out too close to the original, which only came out in 2016. The nostalgia has hardly settled in yet and an animated sequel was only released in 2024.

"Gotta admit, this does look pretty cool. But! It's wayyy too soon for a remake. Even Lilo & Stitch felt too soon but at least the source movie was over 20 years old," commented one viewer on Disney's Instagram post about the trailer.

Many are upset that Disney, a company lauded for its creative storytelling in the past, has decided to rely on live-action remakes consistently over the past 12 years.

"Can Disney just stop with these cash grab live action remakes please, especially this one, literally looks like they copy and pasted it from the original," said another commentor.

Despite the negative comments about Disney's live-action shift, these movies do tend to perform well at the box office which might explain why they're still being prioritized. The live-action Lilo & Stitch released last year made over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, joining remakes of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King that also achieved this milestone.

One positive aspect that fans don't seem to be highlighting about this film is the representation that comes with it. From the trailer, it seems as though many if not all actors are of Polynesian descent. Maia Kealoha, who starred as Lilo in the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie commented on Disney's Instagram post "My pacific island princess!" 

Another person commented "Seeing the polynesian culture be represented in the best way makes me so happy." For some, seeing their culture represented in a major blockbuster film is more important than how well it actually performs.

Moana opens in theaters July 10, 2026.