Moana 2: When Will We See The Dwayne Johnson Sequel?
Moana 2 had been expected from Disney but it now appears that the sequel plan is for a Moana series on Disney+
Disney’s Moana has been on everyone’s mind since Dwayne Johnson, who played the demigod Maui in the original animated film, recently took to social media to make the announcement that he would be leading the way in a live-action Moana film.
Whether fans will flock to another live-action Disney film based on one of their immensely popular animated films is a story for another day, but it does bring up the question – what is happening with the animated sequel, Moana 2?
Moana became Disney’s first Polynesian princess and the twelfth addition to their Disney Princess line of characters, which got an added boost when Dwayne Johnson lent his vocal chops to Maui.
The film made over $248 million domestically and $643 worldwide, making more money than other popular 2010’s Disney animated films like Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph.
Moana was another huge hit for Disney, and since the studio has been leaning on sequels to their popular franchises, it only made sense that Disney would once again delve into the world of Moana in the near future. Let’s take a look at everything we know about a possible Moana 2.
MOANA 2 STARTED AS A DISNEY+ STREAMING SERIES
For years, there has been talk of Moana 2, especially the original’s success. While fans of the animated film would love nothing more than to see another helping of Moana on the big screen, it looked like it would be the small screen where they would have to focus their attention.
In 2020, Disney Animation announced that Moana’s further adventures were coming to the Disney+ streaming service. When Disney made the announcement, they also revealed that David G. Derrick Jr. would be directing. Derrick Jr. was part of Disney’s art department for the original Moana.
The series was expected to pick up right where the 2016 movie ended. It was also expected to hit Disney+ sometime in 2024, but obviously that didn’t happen.
Instead, the folks at the Mouse House pivoted again and Moana 2 was headed to theaters instead as a feature-length movie.
MOANA LIVE-ACTION IS IN THE WORKS
The big news dropped not long ago when Dwayne Johnson and Walt Disney Studios posted on YouTube an announcement that probably was not a shock to many, given the live-action “reimagining’s” Disney has been cranking out.
Moana is now going to be joining the list of live-action Disney films. Johnson, accompanied by his young daughters on the beaches of O’ahu, was thrilled to make the announcement, which you can see below.
While Johnson is unable to parse out any more information than he did during his announcement, it is clear he has a lot of emotional attachment to the story and that he plans on being part of it as Maui. It is unknown if Auliʻi Cravalho would even be considered to play Moana as her age (she is presently 23 years old) would keep her from the role.
The release date for the Moana live-action movie has been set for June 27, 2025.
LIN MANUEL MIRANDA’S FATHER HAD SAID THERE WOULD BE A MOANA 2
The primary original rumor surrounding Moana 2 came from a Page Six article in 2019, which stated that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s father, Luis, said of his son, “He is talking to Disney about a sequel to Moana, but the movie would be about a Latina princess.”
Miranda was the music co-writer for Moana and one would imagine that Disney would want Miranda’s name on any future Moana projects.
Yet the eldest Miranda’s statement raised a few questions. The first is why would a sequel to Moana focus on a different Disney Princess. The Frozen films have shown that Disney can make an animated film that centers around two princesses, but to introduce another princess in a sequel that wouldn’t theoretically focus on Moana seems like a bit of a stretch.
What we eventually found out was that yes, the elder Miranda was correct that a Latina princess would be forthcoming, but it wouldn’t be for a possible Moana 2, but instead, it would be for the Disney animated film, Encanto, the story about young Mirabel Madrigal and her Columbian family, all of whom have “special gifts,” except for Mirabel.
Lin-Manuel was part of the production team, first as part of the team that put the story together, and secondly, as the film’s composer. He wrote eight original songs for the film. The soundtrack was so successful that it became the first Disney film to have both the number-one song (“We Don’t Talk About Bruno”) and the first number-one album.
MOANA CO-DIRECTOR JOHN MUSKER HAS LEFT DISNEY
Another major issue about Moana 2 early on was the question of who would direct the sequel. While Moana co-director Ron Clements is still with Disney, Clements’ co-director John Musker left Disney in 2018 after working with the studio for over forty years.
Musker was a legend at Disney, co-directing with Clements such classics as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog. Musker is reportedly working on making his own short film by hand.
Clements isn’t back for Moana 2, and there are three directors for this movie in David Derrick, Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller.
DWAYNE JOHNSON AND AULI’I CRAVALHO ARE BACK FOR MOANA 2
Could we really have had a Moana 2 without these two? Of course not. Dwayne Johnson is returning as Maui and Auli’i Cravalho is back at the titular Moana.
Others returning from the original include Temu Morrison and Nicole Scherzinger as Moana’s parents Tui and Sina.
Plus, Jemaine Clement is back as Tamatoa. All were integral parts of the first movie, both from a voice and a musical standpoint. It’s no wonder they are all returning.
MOANA 2 STORY
Moana 2 is set to continue Moana’s story three years after her first voyage. Here, our hero gets a call from her ancestors and she heads out to Oceania. And along the way, she’s going to try and save her homeland from a curse of storms.
She’ll end up facing off against Matangi, a goddess of the underworld.
MOANA 2 HAD BEEN DELAYED FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS
It has been almost four years since Disney announced that they were working on a new animated series that would be a feature film sequel to their 2016 hit film Moana. While Moana 2 has been talked about virtually since the film premiered, Disney has been slow to take it on.
On December 10, 2020, Disney took to its Twitter account to announce a number of new TV series that would be coming to Disney+. The announcement included the series Baymax!, Zootopia+, Tiana, and yes Moana. According to Disney at the time, Baymax!, Zootopia+, and Tiana were all receiving 2022 release dates, which Baymax! and Zootopia+ received. Tiana is still scheduled to hit the steaming network, but not until sometime in 2024.
No one knows (or is saying) what the pushing of Tiana into 2024 would do for the release of the Moana animated series. What we do know is that Derrick still appeared to be involved and producer Osnat Shurer is excited to see where the new Moana series will go.
“Getting to explore the story of Moana further is really exciting for us, particularly in this extremely cinematic, musical, long-form event series, and we can’t wait to meet all the amazing artists who are joining Disney Animation Vancouver to help us bring Moana’s next gorgeous journey to life,” exclaimed Shurer via Whatsondisneyplus.com.
MOANA 2 WILL RELEASE ON NOVEMBER 27, 2024
At long last, this movie is going to hit the big screen and we couldn’t be more excited. To hear Dwayne Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho belt out new songs is worth the price of admission on its own.
MOANA IS AN ATTRACTION AT EPCOT
Even if it doesn’t look likely that Disney is working on a Moana 2, the studio does have major plans for Moana going forward.
Last year, Disney announced a new Moana attraction at Epcot in Orlando, Florida. The attraction called “Journey of Water” is part of a remodel for Epcot that will let guests interact with “living water” that includes water fountains and plenty of vegetation. The new attraction is expected to open later this year.
