麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Disney casts 17-year-old Australian Catherine Laga'aia to star in live-action 'Moana'

Catherine Laga'aia will play the title role in the live-action version of Disney's "Moana," which starts filming this summer. (Disney via CNN Newsource) Catherine Laga'aia will play the title role in the live-action version of Disney's "Moana," which starts filming this summer. (Disney via CNN Newsource)
Share

An Australian teenager of Samoan heritage has been announced as the star of the upcoming live-action version of the hit Disney movie 鈥淢oana.鈥

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Laga鈥榓ia has been cast as the eponymous heroine of the movie, which begins filming this summer.

The movie will celebrate 鈥渢he islands, communities and traditions of Pacific Islanders in a spectacular adventure,鈥 according to the announcement from , which added: 鈥淐atherine Laga鈥榓ia will be voyaging to Motunui and beyond as the adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people in Disney鈥檚 upcoming live-action Moana.鈥

Laga鈥榓ia鈥檚 IMDB profile shows just one other listing 鈥 for three episodes of the TV series 鈥淭he Lost Flowers of Alice Hart,鈥 which also starred Sigourney Weaver.

She is no stranger to showbiz, however, as her father is Jay Laga鈥榓ia, a New Zealand-born actor who starred in two of the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 movies.

Disney announced the casting online, saying Laga鈥榓ia will appear alongside Dwayne Johnson as Maui, the larger-than-life demigod for whom he provided the voice in the original 2016 animated feature. He is also one of the movie鈥檚 producers, alongside, among others, 鈥淗amilton鈥 creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote much of the original movie鈥檚 soundtrack.

In a statement included in the announcement, Laga鈥榓ia, who lives in Sydney, said: 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favourites.

鈥淢y grandfather comes from Fa鈥榓ala, Palauli, in Savai鈥榠. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of 鈥楿polu in Samoa. I鈥檓 honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.鈥

Her proud father took to social media to announce the news, too, posting on : 鈥淢y family and I are so pleased to share this news with the rest of the world. My daughter Katie can finally share the news that she will be taking on the role of Moana in the live action Disney movie along side Dwayne Johnson and Lin Manuel Miranda.鈥

Set for release in July 2026, the movie also features New Zealand actor John Tui as Moana鈥檚 father, Samoan-New Zealand actress Frankie Adams as her mother and Rena Owen as the storyteller Gramma Tala.

Directing is Thomas Kail, whose previous credits have included 鈥淗amilton鈥 on Broadway and Disney+.

News of the live version was announced by Johnson last year. He said on that 鈥渢his story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people鈥檚 grace, mana and warrior strength.鈥

The animated 鈥淢oana鈥 was a smash, making over US$680 million at the box office and the most-streamed movie of 2023, according  tracking. The sequel, 鈥淢oana 2,鈥 is set for release in November.

Auli鈥檌 Cravalho starred as Moana in the original film, along with Rachel House, Nicole Scherzinger and Temuera Morrison.

Disney has successfully reimagined several of its animated classics as live-action movies, beginning with 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥 in 2017, followed by 鈥淎laddin鈥 and 鈥淭he Lion King鈥 in 2019 and 鈥淭he Little Mermaid鈥 last year.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.

A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.

British Columbia billionaire Chip Wilson has put up yet another billboard message to voters, his third post outside his multimillion-dollar mansion in NDP Leader David Eby's own riding.

Local Spotlight

James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.

This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.

There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

Saskatchewan鈥檚 Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.