Maui and Moana meet for the first time in a new trailer released by DisneyFollowing the mixed success of recent offerings Snow White, Lilo & Stitch and the Lion King prequel Mufasa, Moana is the latest animated Disney movie to be getting a live-action remake.
Less than a decade on from the release of the original animated movie, a new live-action version of Moana is hitting cinemas this summer – with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprising the role of Maui from the original films for this latest take on the hit franchise.
On Monday evening, Disney shared a first-look trailer of the studio’s new spin on Moana, depicting the former WWE performer in character as Maui for the first time, having lent his voice to the demi-god in the original animated musical.
And while the reaction to the clip has been pretty mixed, one thing people are more or less unanimous on is the absolute jump-scare presented by Johnson’s hairpiece.
Yes, Johnson’s transformation into Maui includes a hefty body suit and a long flowing wig, the latter of which it’s fair to say that people aren’t exactly convinced by…
this wig pissing me off so bad like omg https://t.co/OPiNNCIHND
— zae (@itszaeok) March 23, 2026What an inconspicuous wig pic.twitter.com/0g09tnKEcr
— Stan (@StanOfAmber) March 23, 2026And they say the wigs in One Piece were bad https://t.co/YUXUjIKunW
— Nerdygirlcreates -MANGA/COMIC BOOK REVIEWS 📿✝️ (@kerry_comcgrl77) March 23, 2026What is this...
This ain't Maui..... this is a cosplay gone wrong
Why does it look so cringe pic.twitter.com/hIJwzfwMmi
they really just slapped on the wig and called it a day pic.twitter.com/ufmwyVHyev
— ♱⃬ (@deathussys) March 23, 2026That wig is frying me LMAOO https://t.co/dV1BQRvHXC
— Arthur (Commission OPEN!!) (@ArthShahverdyan) March 23, 2026they can’t be serious lmfao https://t.co/SQuz3P35z2pic.twitter.com/oQxvRyJDkT
— kiki ⚡️ (@SAHKMETT) March 23, 2026This wig so distracting. https://t.co/GH32lnFfA1
— 🥶Tan Ted🥶 (@Tan_Teddie) March 23, 2026The wig? Did they run out of money getting Dwayne Johnson a good frontal? https://t.co/nuxVWXMDLwpic.twitter.com/6961RRdFV1
— Emi Eleode (@EmiEleode) March 23, 2026Hundreds of millions of dollars wasted so Dwayne Johnson can don a terrible wig and deliver the same lines but with worse timing. New low for the corporate slopmongers. Can't even make it past the two min mark of this trailer, I don't need to see anything from the last 19 seconds https://t.co/81kEzT6Zlc
— Schaffrillas (@Schaffrillas) March 23, 2026Bro looks like an snl sketch😂 pic.twitter.com/cSRHMzePm4
— ɥɔnꓨ (@OxGuch) March 23, 2026https://t.co/NZuaFUmvIqpic.twitter.com/B3XVXZmhjM
— lucy ford 🍊 (@lucyj_ford) March 23, 2026https://t.co/7ZK9Bf4ukjpic.twitter.com/yK7QBpOAsb
— Matt Nando Kelly (@NandovMovies) March 23, 2026he still looks bald bro https://t.co/A3uguT210E
— reverie ٩( 'ω' )و (@nookpilled) March 23, 2026The weirdest thing about Disney live action remakes is the entire film is still animated with the exception of close up shots of a handful of human actors lol https://t.co/y4KcUA7Xim
— CAMELCAST OFFICIAL (@CAMELCASTOff) March 24, 2026Director Thomas Kail also opened up to Entertainment Weekly about transforming The Rock into Maui.
We knew that it had to be something that could have real lift to it,” he said of Johnson’s wig. “Because you’re doing this on the water, ‘what does it look like wet?’ is a real conversation when you’re making Moana.
“That one weighs seven pounds more with all the water in it for all those hours a day.”
Johnson added that one of the biggest unexpected challenges “that I had to work through very quickly” were presented by the prosthetics and wigs he wore in the movie.
“That is an additional 40 pounds on you,” he claimed. “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.”
Disney’s live-action Moana arrives in cinemas on 10 July.
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