Last month, former wrestler and Hollywood darling Dwayne Johnson announced, alongside Disney, that a
is in the works. Now, less than two months later, one of the film's stars, Auli'l Cravalho, has announced she won't be reprising her role as the film's titular character.
Cravalho announced her decision on Friday through a video she posted to her Instagram page. In the video, she stated,
"When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career. In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell."
Cravalho's statement indicates she is passing on the role in favor of an actress of Polynesian descent. While she [Cravalho] has Polynesian ancestry, she is best described as mixed race as she is also of Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Chinese, and Irish descent.