Disney confirms surprise Moana sequel – and it's coming this year
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Disney has confirmed the release of a surprise Moana sequel.
A short teaser revealed a return to the island of Motunui, with Moana 2 now confirmed to be released in cinemas on November 27, 2024.
Prior to the teaser's release, Disney boss Bob Iger announced while speaking to investors on Wednesday (February 7) that Moana 2 started as a TV series but impressed executives enough to turn it into a film.
"We were impressed by what we saw, and knew it deserved a theatrical release," he said.
The film will be directed by Dave Derrick Jr, who worked on the first Moana film as a storyboard artist. New songs will be written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear (The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical), with Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi returning from the first film.
Disney has yet to confirm the cast, but the original Moana featured Mean Girls' Auliʻi Cravalho in the title role and Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui.
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It was already known that Disney planned to revisit the world of Moana, as Johnson previously announced he would be producing a live-action remake.
"As you know, Hawai'i means so much to my family and me and the traditions of our ʻohana — or 'aiga', as we say in Samoa — were shaped by these incredible islands. The Pacific islands and their cultures inspired a very special story. One that you all know very well. And that story is, drum roll, please… Moana," Dwayne announced last year.
Cravalho will not be reprising the title character in live-action but will remain involved in the Moana remake as an executive producer.
The original musical told the powerful story of self-discovery for the daughter of a tribal chief who must save her people when a blight strikes the island of Motunui.
Moana also featured The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett's Temuera Morrison, Avatar: The Way of Water's Jemaine Clement and The Masked Singer's Nicole Scherzinger in its voice cast.
It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 89th Academy Awards and earned another Oscar nod for Best Original Song for Lin-Manuel Miranda's composition 'How Far I'll Go'.
Moana is available to stream now on Disney+.
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