The upcoming live-action remake of Disney's Moana will have a few new parts, including a director as the film has tapped Thomas Kail — a Tony Award-winning director for his work on Hamilton — to direct the film.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the story that Kail will helm the live-action Moana film. The project was announced earlier this spring and we know that Dwayne Johnson — who voiced Maui in the animated film — will return as the demigod in the film. He will also be producing via Seven Bucks Productions along with Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Beau Flynn (via Flynn Picture Co.). Jared Bush — the animated film's screenwriter — wrote the remake's script with Dana Ledoux Miller.
While Johnson is returning, Kail won't be the only newcomer. It was also recently announced that Auli'i Cravalho would not be returning as Moana via a post from the actor's Instagram (though she remains a producer).
Thomas Kail is an accomplished theatre director in his own right and should have no issue translating Moana from animated to live-action form. He won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2016 for Hamilton. However, his roots with Lin-Manuel Miranda go back even further, as Kail's first director credit in theater is for In the Heights. He has also directed Hamilton for its filmed recording for Disney+ and has a couple of feature films in the works including Silver Wings and another Fiddler on the Roof adaptation.
Moana was a huge hit for Disney in 2016. It currently stands as the fourth highest-grossing film from Walt Disney Animation Studios ($248,757,044) and the film grossed a whopping $643,331,111 worldwide during its theatrical run. While the live-action remakes have varied in quality, Disney's likely just hoping for the financial success that even The Little Mermaid brought.
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