It’s time to head back to the island as Walt Disney Pictures has announced that Moana 2 is arriving this year.
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In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Moana 2 will be released in November. The new project was originally intended as a TV project, but Iger was impressed by the footage and has moved it over to a theatrical release.
“Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise,” Iger said in a statement. “We can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when Moana 2 comes to theaters this November.” During a company earnings call on Wednesday, Iger shared that the 2016 film was streamed for over 1 billion minutes in 2023, which by our math works out to somewhere over 11 million full viewings.
According to a release by Disney, the new film “takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. 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 film is directed by Dave Derrick Jr. with music by Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foa’i, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina.
Not yet announced is if Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson will return to voice Moana and Maui, respectively.
The first film was released in 2016 and went on to $629.64M globally. Releasing a sequel seems like an easy call for the House of Mouse.
Moana 2 will hit theaters on Nov. 27, 2024.
