Kelly Marie Tran will speak the main character in Disney’s animated adventure “Raya and the Last Dragon”, as a replacement for the voice role previously played by Cassie Steele.
“Raya and the Last Dragon”, set in a fictional fantasy land called Kumandra, follows a fearless warrior as she tries to save the empire from evil forces. As previously announced, Awkwafina pronounces a character named Sisu, a rare water dragon that can transform into a human. Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada direct the film, written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim.
Tran shot to fame after starring in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” of 2017. She resumed her role as rebel mechanic Rose Tico in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019, the last chapter in the nine-part Skywalker saga. Her casting in “Raya and the Last Dragon” makes Tran the first Southeast Asian American to direct a Disney animated film.
“I did not know I was longing to just see someone who looked like me,” Tran Entertainment told Weekly. “She’s someone who’s technically a princess, but I think what’s really cool about this project, specifically about this character, is that everyone is trying to tell the story of what it means to be a princess.”
“Raya and the Last Dragon” was originally slated to hit theaters this November, but amid the coronavirus pandemic, its release was postponed to March 12, 2021. Although the film was mostly kept under wraps, Awkwafina pledged the project to Variation at D23 Expo last year.
‘We keep saying [it’s about] sisterhood, ‘said Awkwafina. “Raya – when we talk about Disney idols – she is, as you would say, ‘bad ass.'”
Entertainment Weekly first reported the news about the casting of Tran.
