Samantha Lorraine is putting on her backpack.
The actress, best known for her key role in You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, has been cast as the titular heroine in Nickelodeon Studios’ new live-action Dora the Explorer feature being made for Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.
Alberto Belli, who directed Disney+ holiday feature The Naughty Nine and episodes of Disney show Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion, is helming the new production that has a working title of Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado.
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Written by J.T. Billings , the script follows as Dora, her cousin Diego and their new friends trek through perilous dangers of the Amazonian jungle in search of the ancient treasure of Sol Dorado in order to keep this powerful treasure out of enemy hands. Swiper no swiping!
Sol Dorado will be only the second time the adventurous Latina has been translated to the live-action world. Isabela Moner played the character in a 2019 movie directed by James Bobin that was released theatrically.
Dora, initially a long-running animated children’s series that began on Nickelodeon in 2000, is one of the Paramount’s biggest and more profitable franchises, with its impact felt through multiple series, merchandizing tie-ins, video games and toys. Dora, a new preschool animated series, debuted on Paramount+ in April and a second season is already greenlit.
Lorraine played Lydia Rodriguez Katz in My Bat Mitzvah, the offending best friend in 2023’s well-regarded Netflix coming-of-age comedy. The film revolved around Lydia’s friendship with the main character, Stacy Friedman (Sunny Sandler). The actress is a relative newcomer to the screen. She earned her first credit in 2020 on PBS series Kid Stew. That same year, she also appeared on AMC’s The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
Lorraine is repped by Buchwald, Venture, Stellar Talent and Goodman Genow. Belli is repped by Independent Artist Group.
