Two months after Disney CEO Bob Iger‘s shock announcement that Moana 2 was within the works on the studio and scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 27, the animated sequel took heart stage at CinemaCon.
Disney debuted an unique sneak peek of footage of the David Derrick Jr.-directed movie in entrance of theater house owners with the assistance of its celebrity voice expertise, Dwayne Johnson. He arrived to the stage after a mini-performance from Polynesian dancers. Johnson is again for the brand new installment alongside actors from the unique together with Auli’i Cravalho and others.
“As we are saying on the island, aloha,” Johnson mentioned, dressed for the event in trousers and a white tank prime. “Taking part in the character of Maui is among the most life-changing life experiences for me and life altering roles.”
He added that the character is deeper than only a gig as a result of it represents his tradition, a lot in order that it’s on his chest together with his tattoos, and it’s additionally particular to his grandfather. “It’s a lot deeper than a film to me and I do know it’s deeper for Disney, too.”
Per Disney, the story picks up after Moana receives an surprising name from her wayfinding ancestors, so she units off on a journey to the far seas of Oceania and into harmful, long-lost waters for an journey not like something she has ever confronted. The footage featured new music and beautiful visuals in the identical vein as the unique. Johnson promised “an all new crew, all new setting and, after all, new songs — you’re welcome,” he mentioned, telling theater house owners its going to be the proper escape this winter.
Derrick’s movie was initially developed as a TV collection, Iger confirmed on the earnings name in February. “The unique Moana movie from 2016 lately crossed 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+, and was essentially the most streamed film of 2023 on any platform within the U.S. Together with the live-action model of the unique movie that’s presently in improvement, Moana stays an extremely common franchise, and we are able to’t wait to present you extra of Moana and Maui when Moana 2 involves theaters this November,” Iger mentioned on the time, underscoring the movie’s continued cultural cachet.
That 2016 movie, additionally launched in November of that yr, was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. It went on to gross greater than $248 million on the home field workplace for a world haul of north of $643 million. It additionally acquired two Academy Award nominations, one for finest animated characteristic and one other for finest authentic track, for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “How Far I’ll Go” sung by Cravalho.
Moana 2 is to not be confused with the opposite Moana challenge within the works at Disney, a live-action movie set to star Johnson. The studio confirmed final week that Thomas Kail’s live-action providing was being pushed again from June 27, 2025, to a brand new launch date of July 10, 2026. The transfer offers the remake respiratory room from the animated Moana 2, which opens this November.
Additionally as a part of the Moana section, NATO chair Bob Bagby shocked Johnson by presenting him with NATO’s spirit of the business award, the second trophy of its sort following final yr’s, which was offered to Christopher Nolan. “This award honors your unequal ardour and dedication to the theatrical expertise,” Bagby mentioned. In accepting, Johnson mentioned, “I gotta let you know that, with all of the adjustments, ebbs and flows and development and progress, the one factor that may at all times stay is the theater expertise.”