The first Lilo & Stitch trailer is here and people are pressed: ‘Look what they’ve done to our diva’

The first trailer for the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch has dropped – but everyone’s favourite extraterrestial cross-dressing icon Pleakley has had a serious makeover. And people are not happy.

The charming 2002 animated Disney film Lilo & Stitch is back for its live-action re-do, set to once again tell the story of a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo, who befriends a mischievous alien experiment, Stitch, teaching him the meaning of ‘ohana’, all while evading galactic authorities.

The film is set to star Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Chris Sanders as the voice of the iconic furry blue intergalactic mischief-maker, and a supporting cast of Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen.

Magnussen will be playing Agent Pleakley – who many longtime fans will recognise as one of the premier “transgender illegal aliens” that Trump was talking about. By that, we of course mean that part of Pleakley’s charm in the original animated film was their many ‘disguises’ while on Earth, a lot of which involved a fair amount of gender-bending clothing.

But many viewers have noted that the problem with the first trailer for the live-action Lilo & Stitch trailer (released 13 Mar) is that none of Pleakley’s lewks (feat. wigs and dresses) are present.

Granted, human Pleakley only appears briefly towards the end of the trailer, where we see him looking very, well, human, before his disguise falters and the classic green alien form flashes up – but X (formerly Twitter) is not happy with the change.

“Look what they’ve done to our diva,” one X user wrote next to a side-by-side comparison of animated and live-action Pleakley.

“Why is Pleakley looking like that? He is supposed to be c*nty,” another lamented, while a third joked, “Pleakley having a human form and not crossdressing is a sign of rising fascism btw.”

Look what they’ve done to our diva https://t.co/ZMC2tyEMPX pic.twitter.com/xGlZBrmGnD

— Tom Zohar (@TomZohar) March 12, 2025

“They gave Pleakley normal human disguises instead of their girly dress ups? CHOPP [sic],” yet another fan added.

And another pointed out a very good reason for Pleakley’s original disguises. “Copping out by making Jumba and Pleakley wear digital human skins is so stupid. Like isn’t it a whole joke that they’re obviously aliens in cheap disguises,” they wrote.

“Why is Pleakley NOT in drag? Why isn’t he serving c*nt? The whole joke is that he and Jumbaa do NOT blend in at all,” another pointed out.

i know in the new lilo and stitch trailer, jumba and pleakley are using their technology to make more convincing human disguises but i honestly think the original made it a lot funnier pic.twitter.com/acLrI6wIZi

— 🧁squee/krazykupcake🌈 (@happyfunf3tti) March 12, 2025

Of course, there’s still time for Pleakley to chuck on a 40-inch wig and a floral summer dress elsewhere in the movie, as we only catch a glimpse of the character from this first trailer – but as of now, fans aren’t thrilled.

And many other viewers have praised the film, with one even writing, “I think we can all admit live action Lilo & Stitch does look like fun.”

Lilo & Stitch will be released 23 May.

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