Michael Pena Joins ‘Dora the Explorer’ Movie as Dora’s Dad

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Michael Pena is joining the live-action “” movie as the father of the title character.

Isabela Moner is playing Dora in Paramount’s film adaptation of the hit Nickelodeon cartoon series and Eva Longoria is portraying her mother . Paramount has set an Aug. 2, 2019, release date.

Kristin Burr is producing the movie, which has been in the works since 2015. The executive producers are John G. Scotti, Julia Pistor, and Eugenio Derbez, who is also co-starring, along with Micke Moreno, Nicholas Coombe, Madeleine Madden, Adriana Barraza, and Temuera Morrison.

“Dora the Explorer” was developed through the studio’s Paramount Players division, which hired writer-director Nick Stoller in October to work on the script. James Bobin, whose credits include “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “Muppets Most Wanted,” is directing. Production recently launched in Queensland, Australia.

The production companies are Paramount Players, Nickelodeon, and Walden Media. The “Dora the Explorer” animated TV series ran on Nickelodeon from 2000-2014 for eight seasons. It followed a young Latina girl who went on adventures around the world.

The movie will center on Dora as a teenager, moving to the city and dealing with high school. She finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey) and a ragtag group of teens on a “Goonies”-esque adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.

Pena starred in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and will be seen in Season 4 of Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico.” He is repped by CAA, Management 360, and Stone Genow. The news was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.