With production already underway on Paramount's Dora the Explorer, another new cast member was added with Eva Longoria signing on to play Dora's mother. Isabela Moner signed on to play the title character earlier this year, with fans getting their first look at the live-action Dora earlier this month when production began. With the casting of Longoria as Dora's mom, the casting of her father may be just around the corner as well.
The studio has committed to developing a cast full of Latinx talent, with Moner joined by Adriana Barraza as Abuela Valerie, Micke Moreno as Diego and Madelyn Miranda as a young Dora. Eugenio Derbez was originally reported to play the villain, but it was later revealed he's playing a "mysterious jungle inhabitant" named Alejandro, who helps Dora and her friends. The story will follow Dora, who has spent her childhood going on several adventures with her parents, who now must rescue both her mom and dad, while solving a mystery that ties into a lost Inca civilization.
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THR broke the news earlier today of Longoria's casting, adding that Dora will also be exploring the treacherous environment that is high school as well. In the original series, Dora's mother, Elena "Mami" Marquez, was an archaeologist, while her father, Cole "Papi" Marquez, was an office worker and baseball coach. Elena and Cole appeared sporadically throughout the animated show's run, but it seems they'll both have pivotal roles in this live-action adaptation. It isn't clear yet if this big-screen version of Dora's mother will also be an archaeologist, but given that the story ties into a lost Inca civilization, it could very well be possible.
James Bobin is directing Dora the Explorer from a script by Danielle Sanchez-Wittel and Nicholas Stoller, based on the original animated series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh and Eric Weiner. While it was previously believed that Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes was involved in this live-action adaptation, the filmmaker recently confirmed that they are not a part of the production. Paramount has set an August 2019 release date for this Dora the Explorer live-action movie, which will put it up against 20th Century Fox's New Mutants and Universal's Fast & Furious spin-off starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham.
The casting is quite fitting, since Longoria just recently became a mother to a newborn herself, with this project also reuniting her with Overboard co-star Derbez. While the role of Dora's mother wasn't exactly a prominent presence in the original TV series, Longoria is the perfect choice to expand this role for the big screen, since she has been a respected role model in the Latinx community for many years. Dora's mother also had quite the contentious rivalry with the nefarious Swiper in the animated series, and while that character has yet to be confirmed for this live-action Dora the Explorer movie, Longoria's casting could just make fans want to see Swiper on the big screen even more.
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Source: THR
