People are mocking Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the Moana remake after the trailer dropped this week. Viewers took one look at the WWE fighter-turned-actor in a wig and started roasting him on social media.
First look at the new Moana movie
The first trailer for Disney's live-action remake of Moana came out on March 23, filled with memorable scenes and lines from the original 2016 animated film. The new movie was co-written by the original scriptwriter, Jared Bush, and Dana Ledoux Miller, who also co-wrote the 2024 animated sequel film.
Of the original animated films' actors, Dwayne Johnson is the only one to return to the live-action film as his character, despite not having Maui's broad physique (or seeming agelessness).
Importantly, Auli'i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated films, declined taking on the live-action role to give another Pacific Islander actress the chance to play the role that got her foot in the door of Hollywood.
"It feels really important to me to pass the baton to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent, and I say that with my whole chest," Cravalho told the Wrap. "I am one of the few Pacific Islanders. And our stories are so important to be told."
Social media roasted The Rock (and the remake)
Overall, the consensus seems to be that visually, the film hits all the right marks for being true to the source material, except for one major, glaring detail: The Rock as Maui. Specifically, his wig. Social media reactions about the actor's appearance in the trailer weren't complimentary.
Many people suggested that The Rock had snatched a wig from Odessa A'zion's closet, while others described the wig as "Party City" quality.
@zaynah237_ shared on X, "They didn't style that Moana wig at all…Just plopped it on his head straight out of it's Party City bag. 😭"
Others compared The Rock's wig to the one John Cena wore as a mermaid Ken in the Barbie movie.
@janeumayet joked, "I can’t see anyone in the second picture!"
@redlopz tweeted, "This is how The Rock and John Cena should announce their tandem WWE comebacks."
There were also many complaints about Disney's live-action remakes in general, with fans of the original writing that it had only been ten years since the original animated film's release. They also questioned the timing, given the fact that the sequel animated film only just came out two years ago and was still fresh in many people's minds.
Some even complained about the lack of a Princess and the Frog remake, which came out in 2009. Therefore, they wrote, it could more appropriately have been given the live-action makeover and brought back into the spotlight once more.
@friendorwoe1 tweeted, "I'm convinced that the moana live action is a ploy by the rock to prove to his kids that he is maui."
The Moana live-action remake is set to be released on July 10, 2026.
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