You’ve probably seen one of the memes about Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s wig in the live-action Moana remake. It “deserves its own credit in the movie,” one of the memes says. “Everyone in the Moana trailer is fighting for their lives… meanwhile Dwayne Johnson’s wig is fighting gravity, the wind, and its own contract obligations,” another says. Even parody singer Weird Al Yankovic, who has long, curly locks himself, waded in, saying: “We’ve told all the casting agents that the Weird Al biopic sequel is currently on hold, but they just keep sending in headshots.”
Johnson, though, is taking the internet’s good work in his stride, telling Variety that the memes made him laugh “so f***ing hard.”
“They memed me,” Johnson continued. “The internet did the internet. It was very, very funny, but I was like, ‘OK, it’s alright, just see the movie.’ Wait to you see it. It’s Maui’s superpower. It’s all good.”
Johnson reprises his role as the loveable demigod for the live-action remake, with Maui’s long, flowing hair one of his defining features alongside his tattoos and muscles. Johnson, of course, is bald. So, with CGI hair a no-no, a wig was the only option.
Despite all the attention Johnson is getting for his Maui wig, he has worn one multiple times over the years for various characters. Only last year, Johnson wore a wig in The Smashing Machine, in which he played Mark Kerr (he didn’t get quite as much internet abuse for that one). And in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, Johnson wore a long, unkempt black wig for his live-action scenes as the Scorpion King.
It wasn’t just Johnson’s Maui wig that sparked online debate. The initial Moana trailer was called out for its heavy use of CGI and its desaturated colors when compared to Moana’s beloved original animation. At the time, fans said the film looked like AI “slop” and a “T-Mobile commercial.” Disney was reportedly aware of the backlash, but passed on a major Sonic the Hedgehog-style creative pivot with just four months to go until the movie’s release.
According to Variety, Johnson went through 12 wigs to get his Maui look just right. Did it pay off? IGN’s Moana review returned a 6/10. We said: “Dwayne Johnson returns as Maui opposite newcomer Catherine Laga’aia in this frame-by-frame retelling of the Disney animated musical that doesn’t do enough to justify being made.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
