"Lilo & Stitch" Star Maia Kealoha to Lead New Disney Live-Action Film "Stolen Wishes"
The young actress will reunite with Disney for a new project directed by "Just Add Magic" filmmaker Joe Nussbaum.
Maia Kealoha, who made her feature-film debut as Lilo in Disney's billion-dollar live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, has landed another project with the studio.
What’s Happening:
- According to a report from Deadline, the young actress is set to star in Stolen Wishes, a new Disney Live Action film written and directed by Joe Nussbaum.
- Details about the upcoming film remain under wraps, with no additional cast members announced and no information yet available about its storyline. Disney representatives declined to comment on the project.
- Kealoha first captured audiences as Lilo Pelekai in the 2025 live-action Lilo & Stitch, directed by Dean Fleischer Camp. The film became a major box office success, grossing more than $1 billion worldwide and introducing the young Hawaiian actress to audiences around the world.
- She is also set to reprise her role in the upcoming Lilo & Stitch 2, which is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 26, 2028. Chris Sanders, who co-wrote and co-directed the original 2002 animated film, will direct the sequel.
- Outside of the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Kealoha is also set to appear alongside Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa in Prime Video's action comedy The Wrecking Crew.
- Nussbaum brings an extensive background in family and young adult entertainment to Stolen Wishes. He served as an executive producer and director on Amazon's Just Add Magic and has worked on multiple Disney Channel series and films. His directing credits also include Awkward, Sleepover, Sydney White, American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, and Prom.
- While Stolen Wishes is still in the early stages of development, the project marks another collaboration between Kealoha and Disney as the actress continues to build her career following the success of Lilo & Stitch.
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