Lilo & Stitch (2025)

Lilo & Stitch (2025)
Directed by	Dean Fleischer Camp
Produced by	Dan Lin Jonathan Eirich
Written by	Chris Kekaniokalani Bright
Based on	Lilo & Stitch by Chris Sanders
Starring	Chris Sanders Maia Kealoha Sydney Agudong Zach Galifianakis Billy Magnussen Tia Carrere Courtney B. Vance Idris Elba Hannah Waddingham
Cinematography	Nigel Bluck
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures Rideback
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	May 23, 2025
Running time	TBA
Country	United States
Language	English
Rating	for action, peril, and thematic elements

Lilo & Stitch is an upcoming American science fiction film directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Rideback, the film will be a live-action/CGI remake of Disney's 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch. It will star Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, with Lilo & Stitch writer-director Chris Sanders reprising his voice role as Stitch. Zach Galifianakis, Sydney Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Courtney B. Vance, Hannah Waddingham, and original cast members Tia Carrere, Amy Hill, and Jason Scott Lee will also star.

Lilo & Stitch is scheduled to be released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in theaters on May 23, 2025.

Premise

The film tells the story of "the bond formed between a lonely human girl named Lilo and a dog-like alien named Stitch, who is engineered to be a force of destruction. Pursuing aliens, social workers, and the idea of the bond of family figure into the proceedings."

Cast

• Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch, a blue koala-like illegal alien genetic experiment known as Experiment 626, who is adopted by Lilo. He is described as "[u]nruly, impulsive, and freakishly strong; he's a furry, ugly-cute wrecking ball seemingly bent on destroying everything in his path." Sanders reprises the role he originated in the 2002 animated film.
• Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, a six-year-old Native Hawaiian girl "who loves hula, surfing, and wildlife, with a special affinity for all things 'gross.'" She's very imaginative yet rebellious, which gets her into trouble often and ostracizes her from her classmates, who consider her a "weirdie". Unlike the original film, which portrayed her and Nani's parents having died relatively recently by that film's events, their parents will have been dead for "a few years" by the remake's events, with Lilo hiding her grief through "relentless, fun loving optimism".
• Zach Galifianakis as the voice of Dr. Jumba Jookiba, the Kweltikwan mad scientist creator of Stitch.
• Billy Magnussen as the voice of Agent Pleakley, a Plorgonarian agent of the United Galactic Federation and their "expert" on Earth. He is sent down to the planet to prevent Jumba from harming any of Earth's life forms while hunting 626.
• Sydney Agudong as Nani Pelekai, the 18-year-old sister of Lilo and her legal guardian. She is described as "intelligent, overachieving, athletic, Type A" and a "straight-A student" who has been feeling the increasing pressures of having to take care of Lilo while maintaining her school grades and her job, causing issues with her and Lilo's social worker, with child protective services threatening to separate the Pelekai sisters and put Lilo into foster care.
• Kaipo Dudoit as David Kawena, an 18-year-old Native Hawaiian community college student and surfer who is kind to Nani. He performs the "fire knife dance" at the hotel where he and Nani work at. Kahiau Machado was originally cast in the role, but he was recast shortly thereafter due to his prior usage of a racial slur.
• Tia Carrere as Mrs. Kekoa, a 55-year-old AANHPI social worker who is "a practical, by-the-book kind and patient woman who checks in regularly with Nani", but is nevertheless aware of Nani's struggles to keep up with her duties. Carrere was originally the voice of Nani in the animated continuity.
• Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles, a social worker in charge of Lilo's welfare.
• Hannah Waddingham as Grand Councilwoman, the lead alien council, who ordered Jumba and Pleakley to capture Stitch (later Captain Gantu).
• Amy Hill as Tūtū, a Native Hawaiian in her 70s who is the long-time neighbor of the Pelekais and the grandmother of David Kawena. She is described as "a warm, quick-witted woman who speaks with a local Pidgin accent." She is original to this film, as none of David's family members appeared or were referred to during the original animated continuity, nor did Lilo and Nani have close neighbors during said continuity. Hill previously voiced Mrs. Hasagawa in the original film and Lilo & Stitch: The Series.
• Jason Scott Lee as a luau manager. Lee previously voiced David in the original film and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005).

Marketing

A first look at the film's live-action Stitch design was revealed at the 2024 D23 convention. Screen Rant and Collider both reacted positively to the reveal.

Release

In November 2020, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney had not determined whether the film would be released theatrically or through Disney+. In November 2022, it was confirmed via a casting call that the film will be produced for a direct-to-streaming Disney+ release. In August 2024, the film was shifted to a summer 2025 theatrical release.

External links

• Lilo & Stitch (2025) at IMDb