First image from Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon strikes a warrior pose

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Entertainment Weekly today unveiled our first official look at Disney's RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, the studio's first animated feature to be developed from remote locations as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.

The image posted above gives us our first fully rendered CG image from the film. The still features Raya and her dependable steed Tuk Tuk, a creature that one of the film's directors, Don Hall, describes as a fuzzy bear meets “an insect version of an armadillo.” The upcoming animated adventure takes place in a realm known as Lumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, where a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

Voicing Raya for the film is Star Wars veteran Kelly Marie Tran, who took over the part from Cassie Steele. Also starring in the fantasy-fueled feature is Awkwafina, who will provide the voice of Sisu, a dragon in human form who needs Raya’s help to reclaim her power and become her true dragon self.

Hall will direct the film alongside Carlo López Estrada from a screenplay penned by playwright Qui Nguyen and CRAZY RICH ASIANS screenwriter Adele Lim. Paul Briggs and John Ripa will also act as co-directors.

“As filmmakers, Don and Carlos bring a combination of animation know-how and emotional storytelling to Raya and the Last Dragon, bringing our fantasy adventure to surprising, original, and dynamic heights,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee told EW in a statement. “They both saw the potential for this film and had a strong vision for the story, especially for our lead character, played by the wonderfully talented Kelly Marie Tran. And no small feat, directors Don and Carlos, writers Qui and Adele, and the entire crew of 400 Disney Animation artists are making this film together, while separated and working from home.”

As a part of many firsts for the company, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON will be Animation Studios’ first movie inspired by Southeast Asia. Moreover, Tran will serve as the first South Asian actress to headline an animated film hailing from the House of Mouse. In talking about Tran's audition for the part of Raya, the BLINDSPOTTING director (López Estrada) said that it was a moment that won't soon be forgotten.

“I'm never going to forget it,” López Estrada gushed while speaking with EW. “I think [Don and I] rode in the car together, and we were quiet, looking at each other and nodding our heads just being like, ‘Yep, yep, yep. Kelly's perfect.’” López Estrada then added, “she is Raya — just her buoyancy and her positivity, but yet there's a strength as well to Kelly and the character.”

López Estrada also shared that after being so taken with Tran's energy and audition that they changed a scene to match her level of performance.

“We had this little dramatic moment; it was written as a few lines. And I remember her going, ‘Hey, I have some ideas because this is normally how I would say this or I have some questions. Do you mind if I tried it a little bit differently?’” the director recalls. “She went for it, improvised for a minute, and had us all in tears. We changed the scene and reblocked the animation so that it would follow what Kelly did that day because she just clicked on something that was so much bigger than anything we had imagined.”

For more about the magic of RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, including how the film aims to celebrate cultures that inspire from places like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, be sure to check out EW's full report.

Disney's RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON is scheduled for a March 12, 2021 release, though like any other film making an attempt to hit theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic, that date is subject to change.