Who is Catherine Laga’aia? All about the 17-year-old actress set to play Moana in live-action adaptation 

Moana by Walt Disney Studio is an upcoming Disney film that will be directed by Thomas Kail. It is scheduled to release on July 10, 2026. The movie has a stellar cast and will feature Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Frankie Adams, and Rena Owen among many others.

Catherine Laga’aia is a 17-year-old actress from Sydney, Australia. She is supposed to star in Moana alongside Johnson and others. Laga’aia will be playing the titular character of the princess in this film. Upon getting selected for this career-changing role, she told several media houses -

"I’m really excited to embrace this character because M.... is one of my favorites. My grandfather comes from Fa‘aala, Palauli, in Savai‘i."

She continues -

"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 was announced last year in April with the news that The Rock will be returning to produce and star in this live-action movie.

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Everything we know so far about the upcoming Moana movie

Disney announced on June 12, 2024, that 17-year-old actress Catherine Laga’aia will star as the princess in the upcoming live-action Disney movie. This will be the first time that Catherine will be seen in a movie.

Before this, she had only starred in a mini-drama series called The Lost Flowers of Alice Heart (2023), in which she played the younger version of Candy Blue. This film will mark Catherine's cinematic debut.

This will be a live-action remake of the film Moana (2016). The 2016 film was directed by the duo Ron Clements and John Musker for Disney. According to IMDb, the film collected a massive $687.2 million against an estimated budget of $150-175 million.

The film starred Rachel House, Dwayne Johnson, and Auli'i Cravalho among many others. The plot of this animated film is about Moana, the titular character who goes on a journey to save her people and her island from an infestation.

The official synopsis of the film reads as -

"An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Mo....meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder."

It continues-

"Together they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she always sought: her own identity."

American actress Auliʻi Cravalho, who starred as the titular princess in the 2016 film talked about her role as the titular character to various media houses and said-

“I love that Moana is a hero to all. It changed what it meant to be a Disney princess. You can be strong and brave and stand up against a demigod. It feels really good that more and more generations are going to be able to relate to this character.”

The upcoming Disney film is going to be directed by Grease Live! (2016) director Thomas Kail. He talked about the rest of the cast of the film and said -

“I am thrilled to have met Catherine, Rena, Frankie and John through this casting process. I am humbled by this opportunity, and I cannot wait to all be on set together. And there’s no better pair to be in a canoe with than Catherine and Dwayne — actually, trio: Heihei is ready, too.”

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Moana is scheduled to be released on July 10, 2026.