Disney is reimaginingLilo & Stitchfor the world of live-action, and the studio has brought a combo of new and familiar faces in order to do so. The adaptation of the beloved 2002 original movie remains largely faithful in its plot, still centering on the titular lonely young girl who, when trying to adopt a dog for her and her older sister Nani, inadvertently brings home the eponymous alien genetic experiment, who’s on the run from the United Galactic Federation. While keeping Stitch hidden from them and the federal government, Lilo also helps him learn the importance of family.
Director Dean Fleischer Camp has assembled a star-studded roster fortheLilo & Stitchcast, led by new Maia Kealoha in the titular role and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong as Nani. Joining them is a mix of new and returning stars for the franchise, the most notable of the latter being Chris Sanders, who co-wrote and co-directed the original, returning to voice Stitch, and Tia Carrere, who played Nani in the original, now playing Mrs. Kekoa, the sisters' social worker. One notable new face is that of two-time Emmy winner Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles, taking over the role from Ving Rhames in the original.
In anticipation of the movie’s release,ScreenRantinterviewed Tia Carrere, Chris Sanders and Courtney B. Vance to discussLilo & Stitch. The latter opened up about joining the franchise, and why he enjoyed the character’s arc in the film, while the former duo reflected on returning from the original movie, and why they feel the casting was important to recreating the original’s success.
Lilo & Stitch’s New Cast Is “Beyond” Exciting For Carrere & Sanders
“The Casting Of These Things Is Absolutely Critical…”
In looking at the new cast of the film, Carrere immediately took to praising Agudong taking over the role of Nani,calling her “fantastic” and sharing that “I love Sydney in this role”, while also going to celebrate Kealoha as “the perfect Lilo”. “The casting on this is beyond,” Carrere beamed, “and for me to be able to transition from being the young girl that everybody’s rooting for, to the woman that’s helping to mentor the younger girl, it really dovetails with where I am in life, and it’s really fulfilling getting to become that.”
Sanders echoed much of Carrere’s praise, denoting how much of a “critical thing” it is for a remake to nail its casting, given “you want to maintain the vibe”. However, one of the things that left him feeling “grateful” for the remake was that"Tia was back in it", raving about the returning star’s ability to empathetically tap into her characters, thus making them “very sympathetic” and “really likable”, to which Carrere sweetly thanked him and agreed that certain plot points “hurt my heart, and you may see my heart”.
“She’s taking on as much damage as anybody,” Sanders explained. “And that’s the thing I think that’s so appealing about your performance is that I actually would liken it to Roy Scheider and Nicolas Cage, in that when you’re upset on screen, you are enduring as much, I think, damage as anyone. I think that’s a quality that you can’t create, that you either embody it or not.”
Carrere went on to share that this level of empathy and sympathy is"what we want in Hawaii", where she says the population is “all heart” and that “we hurt for each other”,elements that makeLilo & Stitchfeel all the more authentic for the Native Hawaiian actor. “Our community pulls together, so everybody’s rooting for Lilo and Nani, and it hurts our hearts to see them go through the struggle,” Carrere described.
Cobra Bubbles' Arc Is Something Vance is “Appreciative Of”
“The World And The Family Is Amazing…”
One of the few changes Camp and writers Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes made to the originalLilo & Stitchstory is thatCobra Bubbles is no longerthe social worker watching over the sisters.Instead,Bubbles is a currently active federal agent sent to capture the titular alien, essentially filling in the role of Captain Gantu from the original and expanding on his past as a CIA agent that was mentioned in the animated movie.
In reflecting on his experience with the film, Vance celebrated both “the world and the family” of theLilo & Stitchfranchise as being “amazing”, butfound himself particularly “appreciative” of Bubbles' arc in the film. “I really enjoyed the journey from being the authoritative person that was going to take the family member out, to becoming really trying to keep the family together,” Vance described. “It was a wonderful journey.”
Sanders Reprising His Role Of Stitch Came With A Unique Full-Circle Moment
He Also Thinks Stitch Has A Different Kind Of Fun In 2025
While having passed off the role to Ben Diskin for the English versions of the Asian-produced television spin-offsStitch!andStitch & Ai,Sanders has remained withtheLilo & Stitchfranchisesince he first co-created the concept with Dean DeBlois. In addition to sharing his belief that Stitch “enjoyed the expanded world [of 2025] to run amok in”, Sanders also reveals that his work on the live-action remake came with an interesting full-circle moment that left him feeling “like not time had passed at all”.
It was really nice to get to come back and do Stitch again, doing the voice. We were even back in the same soundstage that we did the original recording, Stage B.
More About Lilo & Stitch (2025)
Lilo & Stitch, the wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family. A live-action reimagining of Disney’s 2002 animated classic, Lilo & Stitch is directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind the animated feature film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, with a screenplay by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes, and stars Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, with Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis, and introducing Maia Kealoha. The film is produced by Jonathan Eirich, p.g.a. and Dan Lin, with Tom Peitzman, Ryan Halprin, Louie Provost, and Thomas Schumacher serving as executive producers.
