‘Lilo & Stitch’ Live-Action Remake Casts Sydney Agudong as Nani
The live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch is heating up to start shooting over the summer, and a key piece of the ensemble has been found.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has picked Sydney Agudong to play Nani, Lilo’s older sister and legal guardian, who plays a key role in raising the six-year-old protagonist. The title role of Lilo will be played by newcomer Maia Kealoha, while Zach Galifianakis and most recently, Billy Magnussen, round up the cast, both in undisclosed roles. A hunt is also underway for a young girl to play Mertle, Lilo’s antagonistic classmate.
Chris Kekaniokalani Bright wrote script for the live-action adaptation, which has Marcel the Shell With Shoes On director Dean Fleischer Camp attached to captain the long-in-the-works remake. Sydney Agudong is a Hawaiian-born 22-year-old actress with small parts across several TV shows and movies, which add up to eight credits on IMDb. She recently wrapped filming a leading part in the independent feature At Your Feet.
Additional roles to be filled in include a voice actor for Stitch (it’s unclear if Chris Sanders, who voiced the character in the original, will return), and motion capture performers for alien characters that come along with Stitch (notably, Stitch’s mad scientist creator Jumba, along with his partner Pleakley and the main antagonist of the film, Captain Gantu, who is searching for the creature). It’s possible Magnussen and Galifianakis could be playing some of these roles.
Lilo & Stitch is the latest live-action remake from Disney, which has Peter Pan and Wendy coming out on April 28 on Disney Plus, and The Little Mermaid in theaters worldwide on May 26. Currently in post-production are Marc Webb’s Snow White and Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King.
A sequel to Cruella could film as soon as this year, while Guy Ritchie is reportedly attached to direct Hercules and a sequel to 2019’s billion-dollar grosser Aladdin. Per reports, Will Smith would be returning for the sequel, which Ritchie said earlier this year is in early development. Additionally, Questlove has been tapped to direct a remake of The Aristocats following his Oscar win for Summer of Soul.
Lilo & Stitch will be made exclusively for Disney Plus… unless the Mouse House changes its plans.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
