Disney's live-action Moana opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, July 10, inviting audiences to experience Moana's epic journey in an entirely new way. Shaped by an expansive collaboration with creative talent from across the Pacific Islands, the film features breathtaking locations, meticulous filmmaking craftsmanship, and an incredible cast — all in service of celebrating the timeless story, characters, and songs fans already love.

A New Moana Steps Into the Light

Finding the right actress to carry the title role required a search as sweeping as the ocean itself. Casting directors Bernard Telsey and Tiffany Little Canfield led an extensive worldwide search before a then-17-year-old newcomer from Sydney, Australia, won over both producer and star Dwayne Johnson and Emmy® Award- and Tony Award®-winning director Thomas Kail. That newcomer is Catherine Lagaʻaia, making her feature film debut as Moana.

"There were thousands of really talented young women who auditioned, but when I saw her audition tape, I sat up straight in my chair. There's nothing like the medium of film to introduce the world to someone, and Catherine has a light inside her; she doesn't need us to light her." — Thomas Kail

Kail told Lagaʻaia directly: "Katie, if you can go from high school to doing this movie, talk about high-altitude training! You can literally do anything after this."

For Lagaʻaia, stepping into such an iconic role meant forging her own path — including seeking advice from executive producer Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced Moana in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Moana and Moana 2.

"I had to make it my own. You can't emulate somebody else." — Catherine Lagaʻaia

Authentic Representation at Every Level

The Moana ensemble is composed of more than 200 actors from the Pacific, a commitment to authentic representation that was built into the filmmakers' vision from the very beginning. Johnson, who reprises his role as the trickster demigod Maui and also produces the film, spoke to the global resonance of Polynesian culture that has defined this franchise.

"We found this on Moana 2, and on the original Moana — this global embrace and curiosity of Polynesian culture. And it all starts at the top, with our maestro, our director. We met in 2023, and he said things that really moved me… 'A lot of times [what we deliver] is written in the sand, but it will get washed away… We're going to etch it in stone, where it never goes away and it's forever.' And I love that." — Dwayne Johnson

Lagaʻaia echoed that sense of deep cultural connection, reflecting on what Moana has always meant to her community.

"The first time I got to see her onscreen [in 2016's Moana], I thought it was really funny because I didn't really think she looked like me; I thought she looked like my sister. I feel like that's such a universal experience with Moana — even if she doesn't look like you, she reminds you of someone. And that's because she is such an accurate and true representation of the Pacific Islands and of Polynesia." — Catherine Lagaʻaia

A Brand-New Song: "Along the Way"

Director Kail also reunited with longtime friend and collaborator Lin-Manuel Miranda — a Pulitzer Prize, GRAMMY®, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning actor, director, producer, and songwriter — who wrote the original Moana songs alongside Opetaia Foaʻi and Mark Mancina and serves as a producer on the live-action film. Rather than reinvent the beloved soundtrack, the team focused on crafting one meaningful new addition.

"We wanted to find new music, but we also didn't want to do it just to do it. Lin and I, along with the rest of our team, scrutinized the film, and it felt like all the musical moments that we wanted were there and expressed. So, that takes us to the end credits… What if we did something here that allowed a duet that we have never heard, like Maui and Moana singing together? And what if it's both of our Moanas and the one person who links them — Maui? It felt like it was a nice way to have both an emotional transference there and also the metatextualness of that — that you could have the bridging of Auliʻi, now the ancestor who was originally Moana, leading the way and passing a torch to Katie." — Thomas Kail

The result is "Along the Way," a brand-new duet performed by Lagaʻaia, Johnson, and Cravalho. Lagaʻaia described hearing the demo for the first time as a surreal experience — because the demo was performed by Miranda, Phillipa Soo, and Jasmine Cephas Jones from Hamilton.

"The idea that Phillipa Soo is singing a song that you're gonna sing — she sang my part in the demo. Honestly, I was like, 'We don't even need me on it!' Getting to hear the Schuyler sisters sing a song for me was incredible. I was so excited to try something that was so new and so fresh… to have something new that I can plant my flag on and say, 'This is mine.'" — Catherine Lagaʻaia

For Kail, that sense of enduring impact is precisely the point — and it's what has kept Moana's music alive in the decade since the original film's release.

"For me, the thing that makes a film enduring, even beyond how many times you've seen it, is the music. There's a reason why Disney has made so many movies that resonate 50 years later — because of the score, because of the songs. Even if you've only seen Moana 12 times, you've definitely heard 'How Far I'll Go' 673 times." — Thomas Kail

It's also worth noting that both Dwayne Johnson and Lin-Manuel Miranda will be inducted as official Disney Legends during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August.

Moana opens exclusively in theaters on July 10.