As we first revealed on Toonado.com, an all-new trailer, poster, and featurette for Disney's highly anticipated reimagining of Moana have splashed down. The movie stars Catherine Laga'aia as the wayfinder Moana and Dwayne Johnson, who reprises his role as the trickster demigod Maui.
Like so many live-action Disney Animation adaptations before it, the movie looks like a pretty straightforward retelling of the 2016 movie. The sneak peek includes a first look at Tamatoa and Te Fiti, though it's The Rock's transformation into Maui that's bound to receive the most attention.
The actor was spotted on set in a questionable-looking muscle suit, but undoubtedly looks the part here. Maui is even revealed in his classic shark head form, and rattles off a "You're Welcome," teasing one of the franchise's most iconic songs.
In the "Artistry of Moana" featurette, we get a special behind-the-scenes look at the making of Moana, with commentary from Johnson, Laga'aia, director Thomas Kail, costume designer Liz McGregor, and choreographer Tiana Nonosina Liufau.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johnson, who had shot The Smashing Machine before arriving on the Moana set, said of his transformation, "The thing that became a challenge, that I had to work through very quickly, that I didn't anticipate was the prosthetics and the hair and then the body. That is an additional 40 pounds on you."
"There's a freedom when you perform, whether it's as an actor or singing. So that was an adjustment on how to actually work my emotions through the 40 pounds of prosthetics and hair and body that I had on me," he continued. "Maui was a big guy, and I couldn't lose the weight because when you lose weight, you lose it [in your neck]."
"I couldn't have a big bodysuit and then a small little skinny neck. 40, 50 pounds is a lot to put on. Then it's a lot to maintain for months. It was gruelling because of the suit and how hot it was. Wait till you see pictures. In between takes, there's literally five, six people, all [with] fans, opening me up, pulling my hair back," Johnson added.
In addition to Laga'aia and Johnson, the Moana cast includes John Tui as Moana's no-nonsense father, Chief Tui; Frankie Adams, who portrays Moana's playful and strong-willed mother, Sina; and Rena Owen as Moana's revered Gramma Tala.
Disney's reimagining of the beloved Oscar-nominated animated adventure is directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Thomas Kail (Hamilton); produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia and Lin-Manuel Miranda; and executive produced by Kail, Scott Sheldon, Charles Newirth and Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated films.
Moana features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina, and an original score composed by Mancina. The movie arrives exclusively in theaters on July 10.