Thomas Kail, the award-winning director of multiple Broadway productions – includingHamilton, is set to debut on the big screen direction on Disney’s live-action remake of the musical animation movie of 2016,Moana,as perThe Hollywood Reporter) Earlier this year, Disney announced the remake of the film and Dwayne Johnson will reprise the role of the imposing demigod of wind and sea, Maui.
The movie will be produced in collaboration of Seven Bucks Production, owned by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, and Beau Flynn’s Flynn Picture Co. The original screenplay writer forMoana, Jared Bush, will return in partnership with Dana Ledoux Miller, known forPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tide. The film narrates the tales and adventures of young Pacific Islander woman who went out on an epic journey to return an ancient relic to its owner, the goddess Te Fiti. To save the world from a devastating natural calamity, Moana escaped her village against her father, who is the chief of the Island and along the way, she released and sought the help of Maui, the demigod.
Auli‘i Cravalho will not return for the title role of Moana, but will executive produce the live-action movie with Scott Sheldon, also from Flynn Picture Co. Thomas Kail captivated the Broadway with his direction on Lin-Manuel Miranda’sIn The Heightsback in 2008, which resulted his first Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. In 2015, Kail and Miranda reunited for the production of Hamilton. The highly-acclaimed musical almost sweeps the 16 awards it was nominated for, winning 11 of them, one of which was for Thomas Kail – Best Direction.
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Moana is Finally Coming Together
Piece by piece, seems like the project is now coming together! It was only last April that Dwayne Johnson excitedly announced the live-action version ofMoana. The animated movie promises an epic adventure filled with heart, humor, and unforgettable moments. And that’s what Johnson hopes to offer in the live-action adaptation, he said,
“This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me. I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavor, because there is no better world for us to honor the story of our people, our passion and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people.”
