Earlier this year Disney movie fans were shocked to learn that the long-in-development Moana TV series that we were promised for Disney+ would not be happening because the show had been transformed into Moana 2, a theatrical sequel that will hit theaters this November. While Moana 2 details are few and far between, we know that Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson will be back to reprise their roles of Moana and Maui. And The Rock is getting fans hyped with images of him doing his voice work, and looking quite…animated while doing so.
Johnson posted some images to Twitter which show him recording lines and possibly singing, as Maui for Moana 2. He also calls the role an “honor” to perform, in part because of the way The Rock’s grandfather inspired Maui, and the fact that Moana is a story of Polynesian culture, which makes the role mean a great deal to him.
Bringing MAUI🪝 back to life for MOANA 2!So much fun becoming MAUI again - a character that changed my life in many ways - including the character of MAUI being inspired by my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia.The Polynesian cultural significance of the role and our… pic.twitter.com/JpWjxySyWZApril 27, 2024
Moana was originally inspired by actual Polynesian history. The historical record shows that the people of the Polynesian islands were capable of traveling over significant distances, much further than might otherwise have been considered possible. But there is also historical evidence that such travel stopped for a significant period, before restarting again, so the original Moana film deals with a fantastical story regarding why the stop and the restart could have happened.
Moana is certainly a beautiful look at a part of the world and a culture that most of us aren’t familiar with. For many that may have been part of the movie’s success. In many ways, Moana broke the Disney mold. While it certainly could still be considered a Disney Princess movie, Moana was a very different sort of character, and the story came from a very different place than the traditional fairytales. There wasn’t even a romantic element in the story.
Dwayne Johnson promises fans a lot of new, as far as characters, story, and songs, but beyond that, there’s little we know about Moana 2 and just what it is, or what made it so good that it needed to be seen in theaters. The plot synopsis tells us that Moana will receive “an unexpected call from her Wayfinding ancestors” that will send her on a journey across the seas, which will also require assistance from her old friend Maui. The new movie will be set a few years after the original, and the one piece of concept art we have of Moana 2 does show us a noticeably older Moana.
Moana 2 is set for release on Thanksgiving Weekend 2024. With the movie that close, the first trailer may not even be too far away, which will give us a real look at what Moana 2 will look and sound like. Hopefully, we’ll have as much fun seeing Maui again as Dwayne Johnson apparently had becoming him.
