Last year, Disney announced a live-action remake of Moana starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who will reprise his role as Maui. However, Moana’s star, Auli’i Cravalho, won’t be returning to her role, though she’s still involved with the movie’s production.
Today, Cravalho announced that she’s passing the role of Moana on to another actress of Pacific Island descent in an Instagram post.
“When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career,” she said. “In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell.”
“I am truly honored to pass this baton to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent to honor our incredible Pacific peoples, cultures, and communities that helped inspire her story,” she later said. “And I look forward to all the beautiful Pacific representation to come. Mahalo.”
Instead, Cravalho revealed that she’s serving as an executive producer on the movie, which has not yet found its star.
“So, as an executive producer on the film, I cannot wait to help find the next actress to portray Moana’s courageous spirit, undeniable wit, and emotional strength,” she said.
We gave the original Moana an 8.8 in our 2016 review, calling it a “an easy recommendation” that “delivers the strong humor, well executed action, memorable music and lovable characters Disney has perfected in a delightful and lovely manner.”
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
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