Disney has announced the lead casting for its upcoming Lilo & Stitch live-action remake – and fans are delighted.
Hollywood reporter, following a report in Knight Edge Media, confirmed that young Hawaiian actress Maia Kealoha has landed the role of Lilo Pelekai.
The casting comes after an extensive open call as Disney searched for the remake’s leading role of a girl who adopts a fugitive alien after mistaking it for a dog.
The long-gestating project was first announced back in 2020, with a rumoured $60million (£48.6m) budget and plans for it to premiere on streaming service Disney Plus.
A popular 2002 animation from the studio, Lilo & Stich follows the story of a little Hawaiian girl, who is raised by her older sister after her parents died in car crash.
Desperate for a dog, she thinks all her dreams have come true when she meets Stitch, an alien originally known as Experiment 626, who crash-lands on Earth and is scientifically engineered to cause chaos and destruction.
Stitch initially uses Lilo as his way of not being captured, but they develop a rather cute bond and Lilo helps Stitch to unlock his heart and defy his destructive tendencies all in the name of ‘ohana’, the lesson of the movie, which means family.
It was previously announced that original Stitch voice actor Chris Sanders, who also co-wrote and co-directed the first movie from his own original idea, would be reprising his role as the lovable and mischievous blue alien. Per Metro.
The youngster was reportedly cast via an open call back in November, and Disney fans are beside themselves over how similar she looks to the animated version of her character, branding her ‘perfect’.
The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey in the titular role is due to swim into cinemas on May 26, while Rachel Zegler stars as Snow White in Disney’s remake of their first-ever full-length film, originally released in 1937.
Grammy and Oscar-winning musician and documentary maker Questlove has also recently been announced as making his feature film directorial debut with the live-action version of The Aristocats.
