Isabela Moner Poised to Star in Live-Action ‘Dora the Explorer’ Movie

Isabela Moner will be playing Nickelodeon's iconic heroine Dora in Paramount's upcoming live-action Dora the Explorer movie, inspired by long-running hit Nickelodeon  animated preschool series of the same name! 

Isabella Moner

Isabela Moner, according to Variety will take on the titular role in the live-action feature film “Dora the Explorer,” Paramount Players announced Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

The live-action theatrical feature film, in association with Nickelodeon, is based on the animated series of the same name.

Dora the Explorer will follow a teenage Dora on an adventure while she is accompanied by her best friend, the monkey Boots, and her cousin Diego.

Dora the Explorer star: Isabella Moner

Isabela Moner, who has previously  been seen on the big screen in Transformers: The Last Knight with Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Hopkins, will headline the studio’s live-action Dora the Explorer movie.

Moner, 16, has also appeared in Nickelodeon’s 100 Things to Do Before High School comedy series, Legends of the Hidden Temple TV movie, and voiced the character Kate in Nickelodeon's 2014 Dora the Explorer animated spinoff Dora and Friends: Into the City!. She has also lent her voice to The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. She’ll soon be seen opposite Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin in Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado.

“I’m honored and excited to bring Dora to life,” Moner said in a statement. “I grew up watching the show, and for me, especially as a Latina, Dora was an amazing role model — she is a strong, adventurous, and fun-loving girl. I can’t wait to put on the backpack and begin her next adventure!”

James Bobin will direct from a screenplay by Nick Stoller, the writer-director behind films including The Muppets, Zoolander 2 and Neighbors, and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel. The movie hails from Paramount's new Paramount Players division. Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes label and his partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller are producing the flick, although Michael Bay is not thought to be directly involved with the movie.

“We are thrilled to have found our Dora in Isabela,” Brian Robbins, president of Paramount Players, said. “Dora has long been a celebrated, strong heroine in animated television, and like Dora, Isabela has an incredible spirit and is an advocate for positive values. With our partners at Nickelodeon, we look forward to continuing Dora’s story for generations to come.”

Moner’s next project is “Sicario” sequel “Day of the Soldado,” in which she will star alongside Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. She will reunite with Wahlberg to star in the upcoming family comedy “Instant Family,” which also stars Rose Byrne and Octavia Spencer.

Meanwhile Dora the Explorer will shoot in Queensland, Australia, and is scheduled for release Aug. 2, 2019.