Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga‘aia launch Moana press tour with new song debut

Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Lagaaia opened Disney’s live-action Moana campaign with a new music debut that signals how carefully the studio is balancing familiarity and refresh. The first rollout centers on a remake built around recognizable names, a new lead in Lagaaia, and a return for Johnson as Maui, all while Disney pushes the film as a summer theatrical event rather than a streaming play.

Disney has set the live-action reimagining for U.S. theaters on July 10, 2026, and the studio’s video pages say it is arriving only in theaters. The soundtrack release follows on June 26, keeping the film’s music in front of audiences before the movie opens. The new song, Along The Way, was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose involvement extends beyond the soundtrack as one of the film’s producers.

The project is being directed by Thomas Kail, whose Broadway and screen credentials give Disney a production team with strong musical theater pedigree. Alongside Johnson, the producers include Beau Flynn, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Miranda, while Aulii Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated Moana and Moana 2, is serving as an executive producer. Disney’s official materials also list John Tui, Frankie Adams and Rena Owen among the cast, and the film is rated PG.

The company is leaning hard on the properties that made the original a franchise touchstone. Disney describes the film as a live-action reimagining of the Oscar-nominated animated adventure, with Moana embarking on her first voyage beyond the reef of Motunui with Maui to restore prosperity to her people. That framing keeps the story close to the original while the new cast and fresh song suggest Disney is also trying to reposition the material for a new generation of moviegoers.

The broader rollout points to a studio still betting that live-action remakes can work when they preserve the emotional spine of the original and add enough novelty to justify the return trip. The teaser, trailer and music materials already online show Disney treating Moana as a major summer release, not just another remake, with representation, nostalgia and franchise value all riding on how this version lands.