Disney today shared a new still from its upcoming CG-animated feature sequel Moana 2, featuring the titular seafaring heroine. The Walt Disney Animation Studios production is charting a course to a theatrical release on November 27. The second film will set Moana on a journey to long-lost waters in the far seas of Oceania, following the call of her wayfinding ancestors.
After early reports of “talks,” both Dwayne Johnson (who voices the demigod Maui) and Auli’i Cravalho (Moana) have confirmed they will reprise their roles for the sequel. Osnat Shurer (Raya and the Last Dragon) returns as producer, alongside composers/songwriters Mark Mancina (The Sea Beast, Brother Bear) and Opetaia Foa’i, with Abigail Barlow & Emily Bear (The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical) taking over from Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters.
Moana 2 was announced in February as an evolution from the previously announced spin-off musical series in the works for Disney+, which was being developed simultaneously with the live-action Moana remake previously slated for Summer 2025. It marks the first feature film produced by WDAS’s Vancouver studio, which began work on the series; pre-production and storyboarding was done at the Burbank studio. David G. Derrick Jr., the first Samoan filmmaker for a Disney animated feature, was tapped to write and direct the series and retains the helm for the movie in his feature directorial debut.
Derrick is a longtime story/storyboard artist who worked on Disney’s Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon and remake of The Lion King, and served as head of story on Strange World. Previously, he worked at DreamWorks Animation on Rise of the Guardians, Megamind, How to Train Your Dragon, Bee Movie and Flushed Away.
Check out this brand-new still from #Moana2, only in theaters this November! 🌊 pic.twitter.com/aAAvO14d0d
— Disney (@Disney) April 3, 2024
