Disney just dropped the trailer for its upcoming action-adventure—and despite the image above, it’s not set during COVID times. That said, Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess does seem to be speaking to a 2020 audience: “My whole life I trained to become a guardian of the dragon gem. But this world has changed, and its people are divided,” Raya says in the first trailer for Raya And The Last Dragon. “Now, to restore peace, I must find the last dragon.” Some may call Biden a dinosaur, not a dragon, but hopefully peace is restored soon in our world as well.
Raya’s world appears to be an exciting blend of Temple Of Doom mixed with Mad Max. The trailer features Raya battling a foe using arnis sticks, an ancient Filipino weapon. Southeast Asian viewers have been quick to applaud the movie’s inclusion of Arnis, which is currently the official Philippine national martial arts and sport.
It originally announced that Degrassi: The Next Generation and L.A. Complex star Cassie Steele would voice the character of Raya, but in August it was reported that Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran had taken over the role. “I felt so seen, and it was such a blissful feeling,” Tran told Entertainment Weekly of getting to work on the project. “I don’t know if I can even explain it, but it was this surprise. I’ve worked on some things before which obviously weren’t as culturally specific as this, and I don’t think that I knew that I needed that.”
The film was originally slated to premiere in November, but after COVID-19 delays the release was bumped to March 2021. You can view the teaser trailer below:
Because it’s Disney, there’s also an adorable...armadillo? It’s a little unclear.
Raya And The Last Dragon is currently scheduled to release March 12, 2021.