Back in 2015, when “Hamilton” was the toast of Broadway, director Thomas Kail always knew where to go when the musical’s creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, wasn’t on stage.
“I heard some noises coming from the dressing room, and I thought, ‘Is he writing ‘Moana’ again?”‘ Kyle says.
In fact, Miranda used his break from Hamilton to compose the soundtrack for Disney’s 2016 animated adventure Moana, which includes memorable songs like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome.” In between rehearsals, Kyle remembers Miranda recruiting cast members like Philippa Soo to record demos of songs before sending them to the studio.
“‘Moana’ was right next to me in that way,” says Kyle, who also directed Miranda’s other Broadway hit, “In the Heights,” as well as the FX series “Fosse/Verdon.” “It felt like a friend who lived in another town had moved near us.”
After a 10-year journey, Kyle has the chance to jump into the world of “Moana” himself in the live-action remake, which will be released in theaters on July 10th. Like the original, the story revolves around the strong-willed daughter of the village chief, who is chosen by the sea to restore the island’s prosperity. Newcomer Katherine LaGaia stars as the brave heroine Moana, while Dwayne Johnson reprises his role in the animated film as Maul, the tattooed demigod who helps the Polynesian heroine on her journey.
Ahead of the film’s release, Kyle spoke to Variety about bringing Maui’s giant muscles (and controversial mane) to life, arranging an ambitious musical score, and why he doesn’t read reviews of his work.
Why did Disney want you to direct the live-action version of Moana?
I don’t know the answer. The spirit of this film rhymes with a lot of the things I’ve made. It’s a matter of finding your place in the community. It’s hearing something in your heart that tells you that you may not be what other people think of you. This is the theme of “In the Heights” and “Hamilton.” Maybe that was a trigger for them. At least they might have thought that it would be really nice to see Lynn and I sitting next to each other again. (lol).
What instructions did the studio give when adapting the original work?
When I was approached, a script by Dana LeDoux Miller and Jared Bush existed. If you’re going to make a movie called “Moana” and it doesn’t follow that storyline, I think you’re making a mistake. We wanted to trust the story and the characters. It’s not broken. I come from a world of theater that always does revivals. Injecting something new into existing text is the lifeblood of our business.
Well, our movie has a completely different scene. Different people are saying different things. There are various jokes. The order of things is different. It does not reflect the original script in any way. It’s the same story, the same characters, but it doesn’t just connect the dots with the original. What we wanted was that because this is a flesh-and-blood human being, there would be an essential difference from the embodiment in terms of cultural preservation and how the movie would feel when you see a 16-year-old boy in the middle of a storm or a 16-year-old facing off against a lava monster. It’s a completely different feeling than watching the anime version.
What’s the most ambitious musical number to tackle?
“Where You Are” features 200 dancers in the middle of a working village. It felt like a site-specific theater with lots of moving parts. We built the village. At the time of shooting, the humidity was 110 degrees. It was quite difficult and I felt it was important.
Dwayne Johnson helped develop and was a producer on the live-action film, but was there any talk of having anyone else play Maui?
Dwayne is from Maui. He was always going to be that person. That’s definitely one of the most appealing parts of this package.
What did Dwayne Johnson wear to achieve Maui’s insanely muscular body? Obviously, he’s already a very tough guy.
He is. As it turns out, he’s extremely strong with and without the suit. (Laughs) It felt like a piece of skin was placed over my body. There are several reasons why I wore a bodysuit. It’s practical. Maui is often in and out of the water. Sometimes both are shot within 3 hours of each other, which makes it impossible to maintain the look. Also, Maui has some vivid tattoos in the movie, so we used that so we could capture them. I made it to look like Dwayne. That was my goal and I think I achieved it pretty well.
Were you surprised by the reaction to his wig?
My joke about it was that I mostly saw Dwayne on set, so I didn’t know he was bald. Every time I see Dwayne, he’s wearing that wig. I thought, “Oh, that’s amazing.” As conversations about the original Moana unfolded, when the hairless version of Maui, who Dwayne was supposed to play before 2016, was presented to the film’s advisors, flags were immediately raised because Maui’s powers and spirit come from his hair. Maui without hair is not Maui. So we knew Maui needed it. Watching the two-minute trailer gives you a different experience. It’s like when people watch a movie, they say, “That’s Maui,” and then they don’t think about it.
Do you read reviews of your own work?
I get the gist of things. I’ve been doing this job for a long time, and I learned early on that just getting a feel for the conversation is enough. I want as many people as possible to see this movie, and I love creating things for people. It would be great if it could be used as a tool to get people to see it. But I also feel there are many ways to reach people.
As a parent of young children, how many times have you watched the anime “Moana”?
I’ve seen the movie, so I’ll let you know. When I drop my little kids off at school, I notice things are really different now. And they’re like, “Hey, this better be good.” I didn’t know it had such a strong presence. But there are also a lot of parents who say, “You should take this home.”
What is the status of the film adaptation of “Fiddler on the Roof”?
My hope is that it finds a home. Stephen Levinson wrote a great script. That was right before the pandemic, but the world has changed since then. Musical storytelling seems to be evolving in stages, but my hope is that this production and “Wicked” remind people that there is a huge demand for musicals. If anyone wants to talk about making it, I’d definitely be happy to engage in any conversation.
“Hamilton” just celebrated a big anniversary, and there were rumors that the entire original cast would reprise their roles on Broadway. So what happened?
We were planning to hold an event in November 2024, when we were filming Moana in Hawaii. Lynn was there too and we were talking about the idea of the whole group getting back together. That evolved into Tony’s Medley. It was very thrilling. I was backstage with them and I said, “I want to watch this from home.” I went to the bleachers and watched 6,000 people explode. It just became the perfect way to celebrate.
