Disney's Moana Trailer Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing About Dwayne Johnson's Maui

A new trailer for the live-action "Moana" has dropped, this time with a better view of Dwayne Johnson as Maui, and the whole thing continues to spark a single question: Why? Why are we doing any of this? Why does an animated movie that came out in 2016 need a live-action remake in 2026? But the main aspect of the trailer drawing ire online is how Johnson looks as Maui. Despite voicing the character in the original film, there's a pretty big reason why he doesn't work in live-action.

For the better part of the last 20 years, Johnson has been bald. Nothing with that, but to see him with flowing locks in what's a pretty egregious wig is disorienting for many. On X, @LionMeezyN wrote, "Original Moana is untouchable. This trailer looks like CGI cosplay with Dwayne's Maui wig fighting for its life." It also seems impossible for the actor to fully become the character, as @EG_Robert1 pointed out: "HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That is NOT Maui. That is The Rock in a wig!"

The wig has drawn some unfavorable comparisons to other notable hairpieces in pop culture, like what Tim Robinson wore in a sketch for "I Think You Should Leave" where he accidentally tells a barber to make his hair look like dog ears. Another unflattering comparison is John Cena's blonde wig from "Barbie." Despite the original "Moana" being one of the best animated Disney movies of all time, this live-action remake has inspired nothing but jokes so far. 

Regardless of how bad Dwayne Johnson's wig looks, the live-action "Moana" is probably going to make a ton of money. 2024's "Moana 2" made over $1 billion despite tepid reviews, including Looper saying it failed to recapture the magic of the original. That's bound to be the case here, especially if the remake fails to take any risks or change up the source material in any way. And animation is often the superior medium.

"Moana" is an epic tale of a young girl going on an adventure to save her people. There's a demigod, a singing crab, and a living volcano entity. Those kinds of things translate best to animation, even with something as seemingly simple as Maui's bodily proportions. He's a big guy who's literally larger than life, but in the "Moana" live-action trailer, he's just the Rock, as buff as he's always been. It feels somewhat lazy, as @DWLundberg wrote on X: "I just can't get over the idea that they just slapped a wig on The Rock for live-action #Moana and called it good ... I can't stop laughing at that."

What's even more humorous is that Maui was originally designed to be bald in the animated film, but Polynesian advisors recommended he have a full head of hair. So while it makes sense for Maui to have hair, perhaps a better wig should have been used or someone else cast. Auli'i Cravalho, the original voice of Moana, was recast with Catherine Lagaʻaia for the upcoming film, so maybe Johnson should have stepped aside too. "Moana" comes out in theaters on July 10.