Almost eight years after the release of the animated fantasy film, the first teaser trailer for Moana 2 has been released by Disney. Teasing a new journey for the titular character in the upcoming film, showcasing some new and old faces.
The trailer for Moana 2 promises a journey that will see the young Disney princess "sail to new skies". Featuring scenes of her bidding her village and family goodbye, it also shows her reuniting with the iconic demigod and shapeshifter known as Maui. Moana is seen saying in the teaser trailer:
"This is a call from the ancestors to sail to new skies and reconnect our people across the entire ocean."
The film was originally conceived as a TV show, but has been turned into a film and is set to be released in theatres on November 27, 2024.
What is Moana 2 about?
Moana 2 will follow the titular character voiced by Auli'i Cravalho setting out on a journey into the seas of Oceania once more. This time it will primarily focus on her receiving a call from her ancestors which becomes a main crutch of her journey, and see her try and reconnect with her people who might be living far away, beyond the ocean.
In a press release put out by Disney, the official synopsis of the film reads:
"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 teaser trailer for Moana 2 begins with the character playing with some shells and preparing for what's going to be a new adventure across the seas of Oceania. It also shows the stills of her village and her trusted pet, the chicken Heihei. However, it looks like her pig Pua will also be joining the journey.
The teaser then kicks into gear when it showcases brand new imagery of Moana out sailing the seas with a new set of characters and interacting with wildlife and a monster that's the size of a mountain. The teaser then ends with Dwayne Johnson's Maui making a return and reuniting with Moana after bidding her goodbye in the first movie.
Moana 2 was originally set to be a Disney+ series
Back in February, during an earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a surprise sequel to Moana was set to hit theatres this year. Alongside that, he also confirmed that the film was set to be a TV series originally, but the company was impressed with what they saw and thus they decided to turn it into a film and release it in the theatres. Iger said:
"We were impressed with what we saw, and we knew it deserved a theatrical release. The original Moana film from 2016 recently crossed 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+ and was the most-streamed movie of 2023 on any platform in the U.S."
Alongside Moana 2, a live-action remake of the original Moana is in development too with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui in the film. However, Cravalho won't return to play Moana in the film. It is speculated to be released on July 10, 2026.
Moana 2 is directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino. It will be released in theatres on November 27, 2024.