Moana 2

Moana 2 is an upcoming American animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to Moana (2016), the film was directed by David Derrick Jr. (in his feature directorial debut), co-directed by Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, from a screenplay written by Derrick and Jared Bush. The film stars Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk, all reprising their roles from the first film, with Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, and Hualālai Chung joining the cast.

Development on Moana 2 began in 2020 as a television series for Disney+ before being reworked into a theatrical sequel by February 2024, with Derrick confirmed as both writer and director. The involvement of Hand, Ledoux Miller, Chen, and Merino was confirmed in May; a month later, Bush was confirmed to be returning as a writer. Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i, the composers and co-songwriters of the first film, returned to score and write the songs, while Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replace Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters.

Moana 2 is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 27, 2024.

Premise
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 has ever faced by facing off against a wicked underworld god and many other challenging creatures. In order to complete her mission of reconnecting all of the people and communities of Oceania, she must summon her old demigod friend Maui for help and new ones.

Cast

 * Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana, the curious daughter of village chief Tui and his wife Sina; she is chosen by the ocean to battle with the wicked gods of underworld and saving the world.
 * Dwayne Johnson as Maui, a strong-willed shapeshifting demigod who accompanies Moana on her journey.
 * Temuera Morrison as Tui, Moana's father and chief of Motunui Island.
 * Nicole Scherzinger as Sina, Moana's mother and Chieftess of Motunui.
 * Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Simea, Moana's little sister.
 * Rose Matafeo as Loto, a "brainy but quirky" member of Moana's wayfinding crew.
 * David Fane as Kele, a "grumpy farmer" and member of Moana's wayfinding crew.
 * Hualālai Chung as Moni, a member of Moana's wayfinding crew and a fan of Maui's.
 * Alan Tudyk as Heihei, Moana's pet rooster.

Development
In December 2020, during a Disney Investor Day meeting, Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee announced that a musical series titled Moana, based on the 2016 film of the same name, was in development at the studio for Disney+. By August 2021, it was reported that Osnat Shurer would once again serve as producer. In January 2022, it was announced that David Derrick Jr. would serve as the writer and director, after filling the role of storyboard artist of the first film. The series entered development simultaneously with the live action remake of Moana according to Jared Bush, a writer of the film and screenplay writer of the 2016 animated film.

In February 2024, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the series had been reworked into a theatrical sequel titled Moana 2, with Derrick and Shurer remaining attached to the project. By the release of the first trailer in May, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller were confirmed as co-directors alongside Derrick, while Christina Chen and Yvett Merino were revealed to replace Shurer as the film's producers.

Casting
Shortly after the announcement that the series was being repurposed into a theatrical feature film, Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson were confirmed to reprise their respective roles as Moana and Maui. Johnson later confirmed that he had been involved with the project since its conception, including its development, stating: "I can't wait for fans to see the film, the technology, the effects, cutting edge. We all really went for it. We thought if we're gonna make a sequel to something so beloved, let's really go for it." Several more cast members were unveiled at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, including Temuera Morrison and Nicole Scherzinger reprising their roles as Moana's parents from the first film. New additions include Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Moana's new sister, and Rose Matafeo, David Fane, and Hualālai Chung as members of Moana's wayfinding crew.

Animation
Animation was handled at Walt Disney Animation Studios' Vancouver studio beginning when it was being developed as a series, while pre-production and storyboarding took place at the Burbank studio. It is the first feature film to be made at the Vancouver studio, but not the first project released, with Iwájú being released earlier that year. At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was revealed that veterans Mark Henn and Eric Goldberg would supervise a team of apprentices of hand-drawn animators for Maui's tattoos. Goldberg was a supervising animator for "Mini Maui" for the first film.

Music
Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi return to compose the film score, while Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear wrote the songs, replacing Lin-Manuel Miranda from the first film.

Release
Moana 2 is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 27, 2024.

Marketing
The first trailer for the film was released on May 29, 2024 after debuting at CinemaCon the month before. A sneak peek at the film screened at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2024.