SPOTTED: Disney Testing REAL Movie-Accurate Canoe for Its Live-Action 'Moana' Film!

With Moana 2 coming to theaters soon, a lot of us may be forgetting that there’s ANOTHER Moana film on the horizon, too!

There’s a live-action Moana film coming soon, and it is currently in production. The cast was announced back in mid-June, as well as the director, and while we don’t have a release date for the film just yet, we have a NEW glimpse at how filming is going!

Earlier this week, tweets surfaced on X of Moana’s iconic canoe, looking almost identical to the one in the animated film, live and in-person out on the waters of Hawaii! According to reports online, live-action crews are out testing the canoe ahead of filming. This is SO cool!

Live action Moana crew testing Moana’s Canoe before filming begins this week. pic.twitter.com/OHQYkdFFDP

— Reel News Hawaii (@reelnewshawaii) November 11, 2024

A follow-up post confirmed that filming was set to take place on O‘ahu.

Here’s the first look at Moana’s canoe with the iconic sail. Live Action Moana starts filming this Tuesday on Oahu. They’ve spent the past week preparing and testing the boats. pic.twitter.com/k0UiR4e7gF

— Reel News Hawaii (@reelnewshawaii) November 10, 2024

We know that Catherine Laga‘aia will be playing Moana, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson will reprise his role of Maui.

©Disney

When discussing her role as Moana, Laga‘aia said, “I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites,” adding, “My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i. And my grandmother is from Leulumoega Tuai on the main island of ‘Upolu in Samoa. I’m honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples, and to represent young girls who look like me.”

Moana in EPCOT

It’s so exciting to see this coming to life before our eyes! We’re hoping we’ll get to see some more behind-the-scenes content as filming begins, and we wish the cast and crew good luck (and good weather) as they film on the open water.