Wondering how a live action Maui played by The Rock himself would look like? Now fans can finally take a peek of what to expect for the upcoming film.
Based on Toonado, the first behind-the-scenes photos of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s appearance as Maui, who he also voice acted as in the animated version have been revealed. The images include Moana actress and co-star Catherine Laga’aia, while Auli’i Cravalho will still be voicing the animated counterpart. X account, Cosmic Media, uploaded the set photos of the wrestler as Maui.
Johnson himself does sort of resemble Maui in the images with the long hair and tattoos applied on his body accompanied with a grass skirt. Although, he looks rather questionable with the usage of prosthetics casted on his body. He looks larger than his already big and muscular-looking figure himself.
While it’s fair to question the live action version of Moana as with other live action iterations, the representation does seem to be the only thing noteworthy about the 2026 film. Laga’aia expressed when she was cast for the role that she’s very happy to embrace Moana as she is one of her favorites. According to the Australian actress who’s also of Samoan descent, her grandfather comes from Fa’aala, Palauli, in Savai’i whereas her grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai located on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa.
The 17-year-old actress stated how honored she is to finally gain the “opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples and to represent young girls” who resemble her. Beyond the live action fare, its sequel, Moana 2, has broken advance ticket sales records.
Moana’s live action remake will be released on July 10, 2026 in theaters.
