Dana Ledoux Miller, in a recent interview with Variety talked about the film and it’s sequel as well as the upcoming live-action adaptation. Miller, who co-directed alongside Jason Hand and David Derrick Jr., was initially brought in as a consulting writer when Moana 2 was intended to be a multi-episode Disney+ series. However, the overwhelming success of the original Moana on streaming led Disney to shift gears and develop it into a feature film.
“There was quite a lot of streamlining that needed to happen,” Miller explains. “We needed to right-size the story. In the series, we spent quite a lot of time with the crew of Moana’s ship. But Moana’s name is in the title, so the film had to reflect that.”
For Miller, who is Samoan, Moana was deeply personal. “I wept,” she recalls upon seeing the original film in 2016. “I had never walked into a Regal Cinema and heard the voices of my people before.” That emotional connection fueled her passion for shaping Moana 2, ensuring the sequel remained true to Polynesian culture.
Miller’s career journey began with an internship on ABC’s Lost, which was filmed in Hawaii, and later included work on Netflix’s Narcos and Thai Cave Rescue. Now, she is using her success to uplift other underrepresented voices in the industry through the Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK), an organization she co-founded to support Pacific Islander talent.
Looking ahead, Miller is also co-writing the live-action Moana film with Jared Bush. Directed by Hamilton’s Thomas Kail, the adaptation will star newcomer Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui.
“She’s incredible,” Miller says of Lagaʻaia. “She had no problem going head-to-head with Dwayne.”
While the live-action film will stay true to the animated version, Miller believes it will offer a new level of realism. “The visceral nature of a 16-year-old girl braving the open ocean will really come through,” she says. “It gives the movie a real human vulnerability that will make it feel fresh.”
With Moana 2 now streaming and the live-action adaptation on the horizon, the adventurous heroine’s journey is far from over.
