Disney announced on Wednesday that Moana 2, a sequel to the 2016 animated blockbuster, will premiere in November 2024.
Since its debut eight years ago, the original Moana, starring Dwayne Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho, has been a family favourite.
After plans for a Moana TV series were cancelled, a teaser trailer for Moana 2 was released unexpectedly, along with a definite release date of November 27.
The animated Disney original made over $682 million at the global box office (£685 million when adjusted for inflation) and was one of the most successful films of 2016.
With the Moana sequel announced, fans will be interested to see if Dwayne Johnson, Auli’i Carvalho, and other cast members like as Jemaine Clement and Nicole Scherzinger will return.
So let’s review what we already know about Moana 2.
What is the plot of Moana 2?
Moana 2 was initially intended to be a television series, and researching the history of that show’s creation may provide hints about what to anticipate this November.
Disney first stated in December 2020 that Moana will get its own spin-off programme, alongside Zootopia and The Princess and the Frog.On IMDb, a rough outline for the show explained that ‘Moana and her friends continue to explore the South Pacific in this musical animated series.’
In a new statement, Walt Disney CEO Bog Iger gave more details about the film’s plot: ‘After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania.’
He continued: ‘[Moana enters] dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.’
When does Moana 2 come out?
The official release date for Moana 2 is November 27, 2024. This implies that the Moana sequel will be available on Thanksgiving Day weekend.
The first film was also released over Thanksgiving Day weekend in 2016, with the UK release coming on December 2 in the run-up to Christmas.
It topped the US box office for three weeks and peaked at number two in the UK, missing out on the top position due to the first Fantastic Beasts picture.
In terms of when Moana 2 will be released on Disney Plus, the most recent Disney animated original picture, Wish, was made available for streaming on January 23, 2024, just two months after its theatrical premiere.
The same thing happened with Elemental, a Disney-Pixar collaboration that debuted in theatres in June 2023 and became accessible for streaming in August 2023.
According to these forecasts, Moana 2 will be accessible on Disney Plus in January or February 2025, depending on box office success.
If it does as well as the original Moana, it might be spring 2025 before we can travel over the South Pacific in our own living rooms.
Is there a full Moana 2 trailer?
While no official Moana 2 trailer has been released yet, an official 15-second teaser was dropped to accompany the announcement, revealing that its release date would be November 2024.
In the video, Moana is seen wandering into a desert island beach, picking up a giant shell, and blowing into it to summon other people around.
And that’s all we see. We don’t get to see Moana’s face properly, and no other characters emerge.
The teaser might only have given us a brief glimpse of the film but that hasn’t stopped fans from getting excited, with X user Austin saying: ‘First Disney Princess sequel since Frozen II five years ago, and first POC Disney princess sequel since Mulan II, two decades ago!’
However, user Scrumble Eggs joked: ‘Back in my day this would be straight to VHS and have the worst Dwayne Johnson soundalike you’ve ever heard in your life.’
Who is in the Moana 2 cast?
Auli’i Carvalho will reprise her role as Moana in Moana 2. The 23-year-old American actress most recently played Janis in the Mean Girls adaptation, which will be shown in theatres in January 2024.
Aside from Moana, fans will be eager for Dwayne Johnson’s return as demi-god Maui, and it appears like their dreams may be granted, as The Rock is slated to return for the sequel.
Aside from the main two protagonists, it appears that Alan Tudyk will reprise his role as Heihei, Moana’s clumsy and catastrophic pet parrot from the original, and pet pig Pua will also feature.
Moana 2 is also set to add some new characters, known simply as the ‘new sailors’, although no one has been announced to portray them yet.
Lin Manuel Miranda, who created the music for Moana, which included songs like How Far I’ll Go and You’re Welcome, will not be returning.
In his place, Unofficial Bridgerton Musical composer Abigail Barlow and pianist Emily Bear will create the tunes for Moana 2.