Dwayne Johnson Just Dropped Great News for Disney’s Live-Action Moana
Dwayne Johnson just delivered great news for Disney’s live-action Moana, which sets sail in U.S. theaters next summer under director Thomas Kail, with Johnson returning as Maui.
Dwayne Johnson just dropped a big update on Disney's live-action Moana: according to him, the movie has officially wrapped. Yes, that helps explain how they still plan to hit next summer.
What The Rock actually said
On The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Johnson said the live-action Moana finished filming last Friday night. He also talked about why playing Maui matters to him and teased a very familiar earworm getting the full live-action treatment.
'Playing Maui has been the gift of a lifetime... Just this past Friday, around 8:00 pm, we officially wrapped the live-action version of Moana... This upcoming summer, you guys will see live-action Moana... I spent an entire week shooting You're Welcome, and the singing and the choreography is crazy.'
He also framed it through his own background, noting he is half Samoan and half Black, and called the Moana phenomenon a global embrace of Polynesian culture and values.
About that wrap-date confusion
If you remember, there were reports floating around that Moana wrapped way back in November 2024. Johnson saying they just wrapped last Friday muddies the water a bit. A few possibilities:
Those earlier reports could have jumped the gun. Or what wrapped in 2024 was principal photography, and Johnson is talking about finishing reshoots and pickups now. He might also be using 'officially wrapped' to mean the production phase is fully closed out. Studios juggle this stuff all the time, so the semantics can get fuzzy.
The movie you're getting next summer
Disney is releasing the live-action Moana in United States theaters on July 10, 2026, via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Thomas Kail is directing. Johnson is back as Maui after voicing the demigod in the original animated film and in Moana 2, which hit last year (2024). He also says they went big on You're Welcome, which tracks — that number was basically designed to be a showstopper.
- Cast: Dwayne Johnson as Maui; Catherine Laga'aia as Moana; John Tui as Chief Tui; Frankie Adams as Sina; Rena Owen as Gramma Tala
- Director: Thomas Kail
- US theatrical release: July 10, 2026
- Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Bottom line: however the paperwork defines 'wrap,' Johnson says the cameras are down, the big musical beats are in the can, and we're on track to see this thing in theaters next summer.