Disney has dropped the first trailer for Moana, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2016 animated hit on Wednesday. Auli’i Cravalho returns as the voice of Moana, while Dwayne Johnson is again voicing Maui.
Although the teaser didn’t provide much of plot, it shows Moana embarking on another sea voyage after discovering a call from her ancestors to’sail to new skies and reconnect our people across the entire ocean.’
A trailer, poster and images are now available to share with your readers. Opening only in theaters Nov. 27, 2024, “Moana 2” reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a 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.
Disney announced in February that there will be a sequel to ‘Moana’ that will be released later this year, which was unexpected given that animated sequels are usually announced years in advance.
“We were impressed with what we saw, and we knew it deserved a theatrical release,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a February earnings call.
In the original film, Moana leaves her home, the island of Motunui, to adventure across the sea with help from Maui, a shape-shifting demigod. The movie was a hit for Disney in 2016, grossing $687 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, Moana 2 features music by Grammy® winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foaʻi, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina.
Although Auli’i won’t be starring in the live-action, her Moana costar, Dwayne Johnson, will be reprising his character of Maui.
“Humbled to say we’re bringing Moana’s beautiful story to the live-action big screen! Maui changed my life (miss you grandpa) and I’m honored to partner with Disney to tell our story through the realm of music and dance, which at the core is who we are as Polynesian people,” he tweeted at the time.
The live-action Moana has a theatrical release date of June 27, 2025.