The first trailer for Disney's live-action Moana adaptation has officially arrived, according to The Linfield Review, giving audiences their first real look at the upcoming film.
Why This Trailer Changes the Fancasting Conversation
For months, the live-action Moana has been a subject of intense fan debate — and now that we finally have footage to react to, the casting conversation is shifting from speculation into something more concrete. Dwayne Johnson's return as Maui has been the headline-grabbing confirmation, but the real fancasting fun lies in the supporting roles. Who brings Tamatoa, the glittery coconut crab villain, to live-action life? What about the ocean-side wisdom of Gramma Tala, or the quiet strength of Chief Tui? These are the roles where fan imagination has been running wild, and a trailer only adds fuel to that fire.
The announcement also reopens a debate that never really closed: was The Rock always the obvious choice for Maui, or did fans have other ideas? Spoiler — they absolutely did.
What myCast Fans Have Been Saying
The myCast community has been building out dream casts for this film across multiple stories, and the results are genuinely fascinating. Over on the Moana fan-cast story, which has drawn 14 votes across 8 roles, one of the most interesting picks is Cooper Andrews for Maui with 3 votes — a choice that signals some fans were actively imagining someone other than Johnson in the role. Andrews, best known for The Walking Dead and The Tick, has a magnetic physicality and comedic timing that would genuinely translate well to the demigod's larger-than-life personality.
That same story has a sweet detail worth noting: Maia Kealoha leads the vote tally with 4 votes for Toddler Moana — a nod to the iconic opening sequence that fans clearly want handled with care. Alan Tudyk picked up 2 votes for Hei Hei the Rooster, which honestly makes perfect sense given his history voicing scene-stealing animated characters, and Rhys Darby earned a vote for Tamatoa — a genuinely inspired choice that would bring real comedic menace to that role. Meanwhile, the shows leading with 2 votes for Maui, with appearing across both stories as a fan favorite for Sina, Moana's mother — a casting idea that has real creative logic behind it given Scherzinger's Polynesian heritage and vocal ability.