Newcomer Maia Kealoha Cast As Lilo In Disney's Live Action Lilo & Stitch
The live-action remake train keeps on trucking over at Disney, with the studio gearing up to bring "Lilo & Stitch" to a new generation of audiences. Today, Knight Edge Media broke the news that newcomer Maia Kealoha has been cast as the titular role of Lilo, with The Hollywood Reporter later confirming the casting.
The news is a very interesting one for Disney and their upcoming remake. As mentioned, Kealoha is a newcomer to the industry, so "Lilo & Stitch" will be her first role — and what a movie to start her young career with. It also shows that the fan-favorite alien film is getting a faithful adaptation, and Kealoha will make a perfectly adorable Lilo. Just look at this Instagram post. Her casting comes just a few months after Disney began their open casting call for the role back in November.
Knight Edge Media also reports that Disney planned to begin production in February on-location in Hawaii, but they've since pushed it back to allow for more work on the alien VFX.
What do we know about Lilo & Stitch?
Even though the live-action "Lilo & Stitch" is going into production sometime this year, there's not a lot of information on the movie. We know that Academy Award nominee Dean Fleischer Camp is on board to direct after blowing audiences and critics away with "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On."
Zach Galifianakis joined the project earlier this year, but there's no information on who he's playing. Chris Kekaniokalani Bright ("Moana") wrote the script for the live-action remake, while Dan Lin ("The Lego Movie") and Jonathan Eirich ("Aladdin") are producing. Ryan Halprin also signed on as an executive producer.
While we don't know much about the "Lilo & Stitch" remake, we know the movie will follow the general premise of the original animated film. Judging by the reports, Disney wants to keep this live-action remake authentic, filming in Hawaii and casting actors of Hawaiian descent in the lead roles.
We've got our Lilo, Stitch will undoubtedly be CGI, Galifianakis is in there somewhere; now fans just need Nani, and "Lilo & Stitch" is good to go.