Dwayne Johnson Shares Why His ‘Moana’ Role Was "Jarring" for His Kids

“It was an American phone number,” she recalled, “and I was like, ‘I don't know who this is.’ I thought it was a spam caller.”

But as Johnson has “such a famous voice,” she immediately knew he would be telling her “You’re welcome.”

“I heard it, and it was like, ‘Aloha Katie,’” she laughed while doing her best impression of Johnson. “I was like, ‘There's actually no way, There's no way.’”

But there certainly was a way, with Laga'aia taking on the role of Moana that Cravalho made famous in the 2016 cartoon and its 2024 sequel. 

And Cravalho was still called to the live-action version, not just as a producer but also as a singer, teaming up with Laga'aia and Johnson for the new song “Along The Way,” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“’Along The Way’ is the perfect symbolism for this movie,” Laga'aia shared in a video posted to Instagram June 15. “Dwayne and Auli’i sing about finding me along the way and our journeys colliding.”

As for Cravalho, the 25-year-old was honored to be watching Laga'aia take on the role of Moana.

“Being able to pass the baton to Catherine is really important for me,” she said. “To see her take on the life of this character is such a joy.”

For more movies hitting the big screen this year, keep reading.