Dwayne Johnson Looks Nearly Unrecognizable as Maui in Live-Action ‘Moana’

Disney has unveiled the first look at the upcoming live-action remake of Moana, with Catherina Langa'aia and Dwayne Johnson in the lead roles.

While Langa'aia is taking on the iconic lead role for the first time, this will be Johnson's second time playing her demigod sidekick Maui—and his dramatic new look for the film has taken audiences by surprise.

It's very rare for Disney to recruit the original actors to play their new live-action counterparts in modern remakes—often because the voice actors require an entirely different skill set and don't necessarily look like the characters they're playing.

However, Johnson is a well-known movie star already, and he was eager to reprise this role for the live-action movie. "There’s a freedom when you perform, whether it’s as an actor or singing," he told Deadline. "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."

Moana's first trailer proves that Disney hasn't spared any expense in transforming Dwayne Johnson into the beloved demigod. The actor can be seen wearing a long wig, covered in Maui's iconic tattoos, and sporting a whole lot more muscle than he's been seen with recently.

Johnson explained to Deadline that he filmed Moana after The Smashing Machine, for which he needed to bulk up, and before Lizard Music, for which he lost a noticeable amount of weight.

"Maui was a big guy, and I couldn’t lose the weight because when you lose weight, you lose it [in your neck]. I couldn’t have a big bodysuit and then a small little skinny neck. Forty, 50 pounds is a lot to put on. Then it’s a lot to maintain for months… It was grueling because of the suit and how hot it was. Wait till you see pictures. In between takes, there’s literally five, six people, all [with] fans, opening me up, pulling my hair back.”

Moana releases in theaters worldwide on July 10, 2026.