Vaiana, the Legend of the End of the World hits cinemas in France on July 8, 2026. Directed by Thomas Kail, this new live-action remake of Disney's 2016 classic stars Catherine Lagaʻaia as Vaiana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui.
Vaiana, the Legend from the Edge of the World
Film | 2026
Theatrical release: July 8, 2026
Adventure, comedy, family, live-action | Running time: 1h56
Directed by Thomas Kail | Starring Catherine Lagaʻaia, Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen
Original title: Moana
Country: United States
The film picks up the story of a young navigator drawn to the sea. In this adventure, Moana leaves the reef that shelters her Motonui island for the first time to help her people restore their prosperity. She sails across the ocean alongside Maui, the shapeshifting demigod who already sits at the heart of the original animated feature.
This live-action adaptation sits in line with Disney’s ongoing trend of revisiting its classics on the big screen. It preserves the Polynesian setting, the coming-of-age journey, and the musical dimension of the 2016 film, while entrusting the lead role to Catherine Lagaʻaia, who makes her feature-film debut here.
Joining her in the cast are John Tui as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Sina, and Rena Owen as Grandmother Tala. The film is produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Auliʻi Cravalho, the voice of Moana in the animated films, is among the executive producers.
The official trailer emphasizes the shift from animation to a live-action adventure, with the ocean, Motunui, Maui, and the Kakamora among the elements already tied to the Vaiana universe.
Our take on Vaiana: The Legend of the Deep Sea
There was reason to be wary. The first glimpses of Vaiana: The Legend of the Deep Sea suggested a live-action remake that felt stiff, a bit too procedural, perhaps less free than the 2016 animated film. On screen, the surprise is real: Thomas Kail’s film is far more beautiful, expansive, and alive than trailers allowed us to imagine.
Starring in France on July 8, 2026, Vaiana: The Legend of the Deep Sea resumes the familiar journey of Motonui’s heroine, called by the ocean and driven to leave her island to save her people. Catherine Laga’aia portrays Vaiana, while Dwayne Johnson returns as Maui, the demigod he voiced in the animated version. From the opening scenes, the film commits to its promise: reimagining Vaiana in real‑world footage, with Disney’s spectacular resources and a clear intent to preserve the emotional core of the source material.
The good news is that this promise often holds. Visually, the film offers genuine generosity. The landscapes breathe, light adds depth to the sets, and the ocean again exerts that almost magical presence that powered the original. Visual effects do more than tick off boxes: they pace the adventure, conjure a sense of travel, and restore the grandeur of mythic moments to a family‑cinema scale. You can sometimes feel the weight of Disney’s machinery, but overall it carries a straightforward beauty that lands especially well on the big screen.
Yet the true essence of the film comes from Dwayne Johnson. Critics worried Maui might lose his flexibility, whimsy, or expressiveness in live action. It’s almost the opposite here. The actor gives the character a tangible presence, plus humor, warmth, and surprising fragility. He’s strong, self‑assured, a bit of showmanship, but never reduced to a mere attraction. In both his comic and more emotional scenes, he lends Maui a density that makes him very endearing. And, a detail that sparked chatter during the trailers, his look actually fits the film far better than in the isolated clips: the hair, the tattoos, the silhouette, and the performance align with the world.
Opposite him, Catherine Laga’aia carries Vaiana with sincerity. The film doesn’t aim to reinvent the heroine, but it gives her a more grounded, physical presence. The gaze, the gestures, the way she inhabits the space—these recover the character’s determination without merely mimicking the animation. The heart of the story remains that of a girl who refuses to let her horizon be defined by fear, duty, or rigid tradition. This dimension still lands, particularly because the movie maintains its sense of adventure and straightforward approach to passing on knowledge.
That’s also where the film’s limit shows. Vaiana: The Legend of the Deep Sea sticks so closely to the animated film that it sometimes surrenders its own freedom. The plot beats, the songs, the big emotional crescendos, the expected moments—all are there, almost identical. This faithfulness has a comforting, if slightly confining, feel. It will let children, families, and fans find exactly what they came for. But it also leaves a small sense of what an even bigger, more expansive universe—full of myth, family ties, questions of heritage and territory—might have explored differently.
The paradox is real: the more successful the remake is in form, the more one yearns for it to take more risks. The leap to live action could have opened new scenes, shifted some stakes, deepened Vaiana’s relationship with her people, or given Maui a slightly different arc. Instead, the film treads in the footsteps of the 2016 classic with a reassuring fidelity that can feel overly cautious at times. We admire the visuals, smile at the reunions, hum along with the songs, and then catch ourselves hoping for a left turn that hardly comes.
That lack of a true surprise doesn’t stop the movie from functioning as family entertainment. The songs keep their punch, the adventure scenes maintain their rhythm, emotion flows, and the whole thing takes pride in not feeling cynical. There is a sincere wish to bring this world to life in flesh, in sets, and in light. Simply put, Vaiana: The Legend of the Deep Sea proves to be a very beautiful reincarnation rather than a reimagining. It revives memory more than it reshapes it.
The film speaks most clearly to families, kids, longtime Vaiana fans, and anyone who loves watching Disney’s grand musical epics unfold in a spectacular, accessible form. It may also win over Dwayne Johnson fans, who will find one of his most complete roles here, balancing comedic power, charisma, and emotion.
It will not fare as well with viewers tired of Disney’s live-action remakes, or those hoping this new format would tell a different story. Animation purists may regret the inevitable loss of stylization, graphic freedom, and pure visual invention that comes with live action, even if this version compensates with scale and character embodiment.
In the end, Vaiana: The Legend of the Deep Sea lands its live-action family‑spectacle goal more successfully than expected. The film is beautiful, generous, often moving, and Dwayne Johnson delivers a notably strong presence. Yet it remains beholden to the original. A lovely journey, indeed—just along a path we already know almost by heart.
To plan your upcoming sessions, also check out the July movie releases, the films currently playing, and the trailers for upcoming releases.
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