Raya faces down a child (and monkeys) in this exclusive Raya and the Last Dragon image

(Image credit: Disney)

Raya and the Last Dragon has been in development at Disney Studios for some time, but finally, later this year, the movie will be available via Premiere Access on Disney Plus. The movie sounds like the perfect adventure to transport us from our locked down houses and into a wonderful place.

It centres on Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) as she tracks down the last dragon, Sisu (Awkwafina), to restore balance when an evil force reemerges to threaten the world. “It’s the theme of trust in the broken world,” says director Don Hall. “How do you trust when the world is broken? That became sort of the galvanising idea.”

The filmmakers worked closely with the ‘Raya Southeast Asia Story Trust’ of expert consultants, to ensure that this fantasy world was depicted in a culturally sensitive manner. “They were really there to build this with us, and to make sure that we were being respectful, and being truthful, to our inspirations,” says director Carlos López Estrada.

“The movie hasn’t even come out yet, and already there’s such a huge response to just the specificity that’s in the film,” says screenwriter Qui Nguyen. “I think being a person of that community, the grander Asian-American community or Asian community, you knew that this was going to be a big deal.”

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Raya and the Last Dragon is scheduled for release on Marh 5. For more on the film – and a massive preview of all the biggest movies heading your way in 2021 – pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film magazine when it hits shelves (real and digital) now.

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Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.