Kelly Marie Tran has been cast as the lead in Disney’s upcoming animated film Raya and the Last Dragon.
The casting news makes Kelly, who’s Vietnamese-American, the first Southeast Asian actress to lead an animated Disney film as she voices the titular character Raya. The film is also Disney’s first that’s inspired by Southeast Asian culture.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Kelly shared what landing the role meant to her.
“I didn’t know that I was yearning just to see someone who looks like me,” she told EW. “She is someone who is technically a princess, but I think that what’s really cool about this project, about this character specifically, is that everyone’s trying to flip the narrative on what it means to be a princess.”
Kelly was previously part of the Star Wars franchise – she played Rose Tico. However, what started out as a dream role led her to deleting her Instagram account.
She later opened up about her decision to leave the platform in an essay she wrote in 2018, which was published by The New York Times, declaring, “I won’t be marginalized by online harassment.”
“I want to live in a world where people of all races, religions, socioeconomic classes, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities are seen as what they have always been: human beings,” she expressed. “This is the world I want to live in. And this is the world that I will continue to work toward.”
She ended her essay with a powerful note. “You might know me as Kelly. I am the first woman of color to have a leading role in a Star Wars movie. I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started.”
Kelly is actually the second actress to take on the role – Degrassi’s Cassie Steele was previously set to play Raya. It’s unclear why the role has been recast – however, the film’s directors, Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, have shared that Kelly’s comedy and ad-lib skills, along with the level of emotion she brought to the role, won them over.
Raya and the Last Dragon follows the adventures of the chief’s daughter, Raya, who embarks on a quest to find the last dragon, which she believes can help save her kingdom.
Kelly will be working alongside, Crazy Rich Asian alums Awkwafina, who voices Sisu – a dragon stuck in human form and needs Raya’s help – and Adele Lim, who co-wrote the screenplay with playwright Qui Nguyen.
Raya and the Last Dragon is set to be released on March 2021.
