Disney’s Moana Live-Action Remake Confirms 1 Major Change From $687M Hit

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Published Jun 15, 2026, 2:59 PM EDT

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When Disney's live-action Moana arrives in theaters on July 10, there will be one major addition to the remake that wasn't included in the original animated film.

It's only been a decade since Moana was released, but Disney is now just weeks away from debuting a live-action remake, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui from the $687 million hit. This comes after the Mickey Mouse company made live-action versions of Lilo & Stitch, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin, The Jungle Book and more.

Now Moana is getting the live-action treatment, but this new version will feature a brand-new song called "Along the Way" that wasn't in the beloved animated film, according to a video announcement from Disney.

The tune, written by none other than Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda (who wrote the music for 2016's Moana), will be performed by Auliʻi Cravalho, Catherine Lagaʻaia and Johnson. Lagaʻaia is playing Moana in the upcoming movie, while Cravalho voiced the character in the animated version.

In the video, Johnson revealed that "we all agreed that Lin-Manuel Miranda should write one more song." Director Thomas Kail explained that he wanted to do "something that could be distinct to this film. We thought, what if both Moanas sang?" The video also revealed a teaser of the song, with Cravalho, Lagaʻaia and Johnson in the recording booth.

According to Lagaʻaia, "Along the Way" is the "perfect symbolism" for the journey that Moana and Maui go on in the film as they set out to save her community by returning the Heart of Te Fiti.

Miranda added that since Cravalho is a producer on the Moana remake, this would be a great way to incorporate a "musical conversation" between the two versions of Moana.

From her vantage point, Cravalho believes that the song allows her to "pass the baton" to a new actress taking on the role. "To see her take on the life of this character is such a joy," she explained.

When musicals get new remakes or adaptations on the big screen, it's common for the filmmakers to include a new song as a way to land an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Over the years, movies like Dreamgirls ("Listen"), Les Misérables ("Suddenly") and Wicked: For Good ("No Place Like Home" and "The Girl in the Bubble") have employed this strategy, to varying degrees of success, though the Wicked sequel was completely shut out of the Academy Awards.

Disney has also included new music in its live-action remakes, including in Beauty and the Beast ("Evermore"), Aladdin ("Speechless") and The Lion King ("Spirit"). Now they're doing the same for Moana, though time will tell if "Along the Way" will land award nominations or not.

Along with that original song, the live-action Moana is expected to include the music that fans know and love from the John Musker and Ron Clements-directed animated film, including "How Far I'll Go" (which was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2017 Oscars), "You're Welcome" and "I Am Moana."

Aside from Lagaʻaia and Johnson, the new Moana also stars John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen and Jemaine Clement. Johnson and Miranda are producers along with Cravalho, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn.

Moana will be released in theaters on Friday, July 10, 2026.