Disney is preparing to hit a huge milestone in their cinematic career: releasing their 59th movie theatrically, and it looks absolutely fascinating.
Originally meant to come out in November 2020, but now expected to come out March 21, 2021, Raya and the Last Dragon will be Disney’s next adventure on the big screen. “In a realm is known as [K]umandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon,” according to the IMBD description.
What do we know so far? We know it was officially announced in August 2019 at the D23 expo, it will be the 59th Disney film released on the big screen, and to quote an article by AMC Theaters, it is “based on a screenplay by Adele Lim, who is one of the writers of Crazy Rich Asians... While dragons used to be plentiful in [Kumandra], they have all begun to disappear, and the search is on to discover the last one. Our hero on this journey is Raya, a fearless warrior, and the creature she will discover is named Sisu, a water dragon who has the ability to take human form as an old woman.”
According to IMBD, Raya is voiced by Cassie Steele, also known for her work as Manny Santos in Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi Spring Break Movie, Degrassi Goes Hollywood, and Degrassi Takes Manhattan; as well as a smattering of voice roles, such as Tammy Guterman in Rick and Morty. While Awkwafina was cast to voice the water dragon Sisu. Awkwafina, who is mostly recognized from her rap career, has also been in a few movies and TV shows with roles such as: Goh Peik Lin in Crazy Rich Asians, Ming Fleetfoot in Jumanji: The Next Level, and Nora Lin from Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. We also know Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins were selected to direct this new Disney movie.
The movie is heavily inspired by “Southeast Asia and regions including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Laos,” according to a D23 expo article by comingsoon.net and while there’s currently no official trailer out (YouTube has plenty of fake ones posing as the real deal) there is commentary and interviews available on YouTube from the 2019 D23 Expo if you’re curious about anything Raya and the Last Dragon related!
By Nicholas James
https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1094901-d23-disney-animation-reveals-raya-and-the-last-dragon
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