1. The wayfinder is back, and this time she’s flesh and blood. Disney has dropped the final trailer for its live-action Moana, and it lands in Singapore cinemas on 9 July 2026 — right after the mid-year school holidays.

Released on 10 June, this final look leans hard into the mythology and fantasy that made the 2016 animated film a household favourite. Where the earlier teaser was busy introducing the world of Motunui, this cut goes big on spectacle — towering waves, the realm of monsters, and the first proper glimpse of the demigod Maui in live-action form.

What the live-action Moana trailer shows

The headline moment is Dwayne Johnson, reprising Maui from the animated films and clearly relishing every second of it. The trailer serves up the first extended listen to his new rendition of “You’re Welcome,” alongside full glimpses of Maui’s shapeshifting and his animated tattoos — yes, Mini Maui survives the jump to live-action. Eagle-eyed fans also get a first tease of Tamatoa, the giant treasure-hoarding crab, with Jemaine Clement returning to voice the character he originated.

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

At its heart, the story stays faithful to the original. Per Disney’s official synopsis, Moana “answers the Ocean’s call and voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with demigod Maui on a journey to restore prosperity to her people.” The trailer doesn’t shy away from the scale of that quest — one line warns that the pair have to “go through a whole ocean of bad” to set things right.

Who’s in it — and who’s behind it

Newcomer Catherine Laga’aia makes her feature film debut as Moana, leading a cast that includes John Tui as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Sina, and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala. As Variety reported, Clement’s return as Tamatoa reunites another familiar voice from the animated original.

Behind the camera, Thomas Kail — the Tony-winning director best known for staging Hamilton — makes his feature directorial debut, working from a screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller. The producing team is stacked: Dwayne Johnson, Hiram and Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, with original Moana voice star Auli’i Cravalho on board as executive producer.

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

On the music side, Miranda is back as songwriter and Mark Mancina returns to score, the same pairing that gave the 2016 film its soundtrack. That continuity matters: the songs are a huge part of why Moana endured, and keeping the original creative voices on board is Disney hedging against the lukewarm reception some of its other live-action remakes have drawn.

A safe bet for Disney’s remake machine

The stakes here are real. The animated Moana has only grown in stature since 2016 — it became a streaming juggernaut, spun off a 2024 sequel, and the original earned well north of US$680 million at the global box office. A live-action take is, on paper, one of the safer bets in Disney’s remake pipeline. The question the trailers keep circling is whether photoreal oceans and a real-world Maui can recapture the warmth of hand-drawn animation, or whether they sand off the charm that made it special.

What this means for Singapore movie-goers

Singapore gets Moana from 9 July 2026, a day ahead of the US release on 10 July, with Australia and New Zealand on the same early date.

For local fans, it’s also a chance to see Pasifika and Māori talent front and centre in a global tentpole — a story rooted in Pacific voyaging culture, told largely by performers of Pacific and New Zealand heritage. Tickets are expected to open at the major chains closer to release; Disney Singapore’s official page is the place to watch for showtimes and bookings.

Counting down to the voyage? Keep an eye on our latest news for more trailer drops and release dates as they land.