Disney’s Moana remake draws harsh reviews as Dwayne Johnson returns

Disney’s live-action Moana opened in U.S. theaters with Dwayne Johnson back as Maui and Catherine Lagaaia making her film debut as Moana, but the remake met a wave of early reviews that called it pointless, soulless and creatively bankrupt. The response has turned the film into a fresh test of whether Disney’s live-action remake strategy can keep turning animated nostalgia into box-office profit.

Disney announced the project in April 2023, when Johnson revealed the reimagining in a recorded message from Hawaii during the company’s shareholder webcast. Thomas Kail directed the film in his feature directorial debut, with Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller on the screenplay and Johnson among the producers. Disney had originally dated the movie for June 27, 2025 before moving it to July 10, 2026.

The studio’s own synopsis keeps the premise close to the 2016 animated hit: Moana voyages beyond the reef of Motunui with Maui to restore prosperity to her people. Disney has also described the earlier film as Oscar-nominated, underscoring how closely the remake is tied to one of the company’s most durable recent titles.

That 2016 release remains the benchmark. Starring Aulii Cravalho as Moana and Johnson as Maui, it grossed $643.3 million worldwide after a $56.6 million opening weekend, a scale that explains why Disney was willing to return to the property. The live-action version, however, landed with a far colder critical reception, and Rotten Tomatoes placed it near 38 percent, among the lowest-ranked Disney live-action remakes.

The reaction matters because Disney has built a major part of its modern film strategy around revisiting animated titles with live-action casts, higher budgets and familiar branding. Recent remake results have been uneven, with some titles drawing strong turnout and others meeting skepticism for offering little beyond a new coat of paint. Moana’s reception now adds a prominent new data point to that ledger.

Johnson’s return also arrives as Disney keeps extending the franchise beyond the remake itself. The company is also developing Moana 3, a sign that the story remains central to its pipeline even as the live-action version absorbs criticism. For Disney, the question is no longer whether Moana still carries brand value, but how much of that value can survive once the novelty of the remake wears off.