As part of a recent trailer, Disney unveiled the first look at its 8th live-action princess remake. The House of Mouse has been remaking its animated classics lately, but one particular corner of the studio's catalog that it has focused on is its Disney princesses. In the last decade-and-change, there has been a high concentration of these princess remakes, retelling stories like Cinderella, Aladdin, and Snow White for a new generation.
This live-action effort will next take to the high seas with the long-awaited release of the new Moana remake. A first trailer for the 2026 musical adventure was recently released, showing off this reimaging of the modern Disney classic. The new movie from Hamilton director Thomas Kail will follow the same story as the 2016 animated hit, telling the tale of a young island-dwelling girl who gazes out at the horizon and yearns to know what lies beyond.
The live-action remake stars Catherine Laga'aia as the titular Disney princess, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reprising his role as the demigod trickster Maui from the animated original.
The first teaser included some epic-looking sequences, rendering the world and characters of Moana unlike ever before. These included sweeping ocean shots, Moana's magical water-based powers, and several other moments from the original film that seemed impossible to render in live-action.
The trailer itself was relatively short, concealing key details (most notably what Johnson's new Maui will look like in full), leaving some questions unanswered that fans may have about the project.
Disney's track record with Disney princess remakes has been relatively rocky over the past few years. The studio is most recently coming off Snow White, which was critically maligned and earned a dismal $204 million.
Moana comes to theaters on July 10, 2026. The new movie is expected to be one of the biggest of next year, sitting as Disney's tentpole blockbuster for the 2026 summer season.
What Moana Can Learn From Every Other Live-Action Disney Princess Remake
Maleficent
The idea of the modern Disney princess remake was born in 2014 (two years before the original Moana movie came to theaters) with the release of Maleficent. The Angelina Jolie-led reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty story shifted the focus away from the princess and instead followed the movie's classic Disney villain.
One thing Maleficent nailed from the start was the idea of scale that Moana could and should draw inspiration from. A benefit of the animated medium is that you can render things that are simply impossible to do in live-action. Maleficent proved that, with modern technology, it is no longer a problem. And when done well, you do not lose the magic of the animated original.
Cinderella
One year after Maleficent was released in 2015, the live-action Cinderella followed. Still sitting as one of the studio's best-reviewed live-action remakes (84% on Rotten Tomatoes), Cinderella was one of the first modern Disney remakes that proved you can faithfully retell the story of the original animated film and still have it work with audiences.
Capturing the magic of the original Moana movie will be one of the most challenging tasks ahead for the new live-action reimagining. As long as it looks at Cinderella and can bottle that goose-bump-inducing feeling of wonder of the original, then it will be off to the races.
Beauty and the Beast
For the most part, Disney's casting in these live-action projects has been quite stellar, but many would argue that it reached its peak with the release of Beauty and the Beast in 2017. This particular live-action remake starred former Harry Potter actor Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast.
This central pair remains one of the best bits of casting of the modern Disney era, with audiences still praising both Watson and Stevens for their work on the reimagined Disney musical. From the brief tease of Moana that fans have been given, it seems the studio has managed to nail the casting again with Catherine Laga'aia as the movie's titular Polynesian princess.
Aladdin
Guy Ritchie's Aladdin premiered in 2019, riding its magic carpet all the way into the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide. Still regarded as one of the best-looking Disney remakes, there is plenty that Moana could learn from Aladdin, specifically in how it did its massive musical numbers.
These flights of musical fancy are one of the biggest reasons the classic Disney animated films were so beloved upon their release; however, replicating that same sense of scale and bumping musicality in live-action can be tricky. Aladdin took that as a challenge, rendering some of the original film's most magical moments as faithfully as possible in the live-action form.
Mulan
Mulan's live-action remake can easily be forgotten (largely thanks to its height of the COVID-19 pandemic release). Still, there is plenty of good to be found within this particular Disney reimagining. The 2020 Disney release drew criticism for its grittier, non-musical take on the story, but it also featured some of the most picturesque action in the studio's history.
Despite being an animated Disney musical, Moana features some awe-inspiring action sequences as well. Hopefully, the new film can capture some of the physicality from Mulan.
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid and Moana share many similarities. On the page, the most prominent aspect is that they are both primarily ocean- or seaside-set stories. One thing The Little Mermaid did exceptionally well is capture the feeling of high-seas adventure.
Water can be one of the most complicated things in movies to get right. However, The Little Mermaid made its ocean feel vast and authentically nautical. Moana should take notes, as much of that film takes place at sea and will be dealing with a whole lot of water.
Snow White
When taking on a role as a Disney princess, there are two sides of the performance you have to nail: singing and acting. Sometimes these live-action Disney stars get the acting right. Other times, they nail the singing side of things. One thing 2025's Snow White perfected was casting a lead who can do both.
Rachel Zegler was an inspired choice to bring on as a Disney princess, as she had already proven herself to be both an acting and singing powerhouse headed into the project. Given that Moana's Catherine Laga'aia is still relatively unknown, it is hard to tell if she is another Disney princess casting wonderstroke. However, from what we've seen, the early returns look good.
