Eva Longoria Will Play Dora The Explorer's Mom In The Live-Action Movie
Have you heard that a live-action movie based on the Nickelodeon kids series Dora the Explorer is being made? Yep, Dora, Boots, Diego, and more are being brought to life on the big screen, and the film just added its biggest name yet. Eva Longoria will play Dora the Explorer's mom in the live-action movie adaptation, The Hollywood Reporter recently confirmed.
Eva Longoria is joining the Dora the Explorer movie as the eponymous character's mother, Elena, and filming for the upcoming project has already begun in Queensland, Australia. According to Paramount's official plot synopsis, Longoria's role will be central to the story of the movie, since it states that Dora will go on an adventure in order to save her parents. The new movie will center on a more grown-up version of Dora the Explorer, reimagining the character as a teenager who leaves her life of exploring the jungle with her parents to enter the completely different world of high school. But the movie will see Dora return to the jungle soon enough, as a new adventure leads her to investigate the mysterious disappearance of an ancient Inca civilization.
Eva Longoria is joining the cast top-lined by Isabela Moner (Transformers: The Last Knight), who will star as the teenaged, live-action version of Dora the Explorer. Moner shared a first look at what her version of Dora the Explorer looks like on her Instagram earlier this month:
Dora the Explorer will also star Eva Longoria's recent Overboard costar Eugenio Derbez, who is cast to play a fellow adventurer named Alejandro Gutierrez. Apparently, though, Alejandro will serve as the movie's villain. The movie will also star Micke Moreno as Dora's friend Diego, Adriana Barraza as Dora's grandmother Abuelita Valerie, and Temuera Morrison as a character named Powell.
The plot synopsis reveals that there are a number of other lead roles that have yet to be announced. The studio teased that the Dora the Explorer movie will center on a group of teenagers going on an adventure together, citing the iconic '80s flick The Goonies as an influence. So we can expect a few more teen roles to join Dora and Diego on their adventure. Dora's monkey Boots is also confirmed to be featured in the movie, but it is unclear in what capacity — it could range anywhere from a trained, non-speaking pet monkey to a fully CGI-ed talking monkey. Obviously, that decision will greatly influence the tone of the entire movie, so it will be interesting to see which way they go with Boots.
The Dora the Explorer movie will be directed by James Bobin. Interestingly, much of Bobin's background is in adult comedies, as a key figure behind Sacha Baron Cohen's Da Ali G Show and a co-creator of the beloved cult comedy series Flight of the Conchords. More recently, though, Bobin has taken to making more kid-friendly movies, as the director of 2011's The Muppets and its follow-up Muppets Most Wanted.
The live-action adaptation of Dora the Explorer is scheduled to hit theaters on Aug. 2, 2019.
