We’ve been staring at the edge of the water, long as we can remember, never really knowing if there’d be a sequel to the glorious adventure that is Disney’s Moana.
In the company’s earnings call on Wednesday, along with some less great news, Disney announced the coming of Moana 2, the follow-up to the 2016 film. The sequel is set to be released in cinemas on Nov. 27.
In the call, CEO Bob Iger said Moana 2 had originally been developed as a TV series for the company’s streaming platform Disney+ but the company pivoted to a theatrical release instead. Popularity is on Moana‘s side here, as Iger said the original film had crossed 1 billion streams on Disney+ and was the most streamed movie on any platform in the U.S. for 2023.
While details on the story are skint, Moana 2 will be set again in Polynesia, and see Moana and demigod Maui on another seafaring adventure with a new crew, probably beyond the line where the sky meets the sea. According to Disney’s press release, « After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. »
The cast has yet to be revealed, so it’s unclear whether Mean Girls star Auliʻi Cravalho will reprise her role as Moana herself, or whether Dwayne Johnson will be back as Maui. The film is being directed by Dave Derrick Jr., who was a story artist for the original film, and the music is in the hands of Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina (both of whom worked on Moana with Lin-Manuel Miranda) as well as Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.
Here’s a tiny, wah-fer thin mint of a 16-second teaser, which shows Moana standing on the shore blowing into a conch shell:
And here’s the first, very pretty image released by Disney, showing Moana, Maui, and their yet-to-be-revealed new crew — of course, accompanied by Pua the pig and Hei Hei the rooster:
That’s all we get for now, but I’ll take it.
