Dwayne Johnson has spoken publicly about the online mockery of his flowing wig as Maui in Disney's forthcoming live-action "Moana", telling Variety at the film's Los Angeles premiere that he laughed "so f—ing hard" at the memes and found the reaction "very, very funny". Speaking at the Hollywood Bowl, the usually bald actor revealed he tried 12 different wigs before settling on the right one, noting that Maui's hair is central to the character's powers. His good-humoured response matters because the wig became a viral talking point when the first trailer dropped, and his comments position the film ahead of its cinema release.

Johnson also addressed early criticism of remaking the animated hit just a decade after the 2016 original, arguing there is value in the story being told by "real flesh and blood" human beings, and stressed the franchise's importance for cultural representation, recalling that he saw no one who looked like him on screen as a child. The film is directed by Thomas Kail, with Catherine Laga'aia as Moana and a cast including Jemaine Clement and Rena Owen. Moana is among Disney's strongest franchises — the original earned $643 million worldwide and the 2024 sequel passed $1 billion — and a "Moana 3" has been confirmed, with the live-action version reaching cinemas on 9 July.