So, is anybody actually coming back for Moana 2?

Dwayne Johnson and Moana herself, Auliʻi Cravalho, are both still just "in talks" to return for the abruptly announced sequel

By William Hughes  |  February 9, 2024 | 2:14am
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So, is anybody actually coming back for Moana 2?
Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Earlier this week, Disney made the somewhat surprising announcement that Moana 2 would be coming out this Thanksgiving—surprising because, up until yesterday, nobody in the public had any idea Disney was working on a sequel to the 2016 animated hit. As became quickly apparent, though, that was because the studio was actually repurposing a previously planned steaming TV project, re-assembling an announced Moana TV follow-up into a film that it could shove into its regular November animated movie slot in the hopes that something, anything, might work there in the aftermath of the whole disappointing Wish of it all.

What has not become apparent, at least not yet, is whether either of the film’s two leads, Auliʻi Cravalho or Dwayne Johnson, would be reprising their roles in the movie. (It’s not uncommon, we note in passing, for TV shows based on Disney movies to swap out big name stars for a more economical pick; Dan Castellaneta had a nice sideline in the 1990s voicing Aladdin’s Genie in a number of spin-off projects, for instance.) According to Deadline, the studio has reached out to both of the stars about reprising their roles, and talks with Johnson have reportedly gone well enough that he’s even put a teaser for the movie out on his Instagram.

Cravalho posted the same video, but, at least according to Deadline, is further away from a deal to return and voice the sequel’s title character. The actor—who most recently appeared in theaters in the Mean Girls musical—notably announced last year that she wouldn’t be starring in the live-action Moana remake (which was scheduled for summer 2025, but is apparently getting moved around now), saying at the time that “truly honored to pass this baton to the next woman of Pacific Island descent to honor our incredible Pacific peoples, cultures and communities.” (Johnson is both starring in the remake, and producing it. No new Moana has yet been cast.)

All of which, to our eye, speaks to the apparently hectic way Disney has been approaching this movie, which seems like it was rolled out as much to appease investors on the company’s Q1 earnings call as it was out of any deeper artistic intent to return to these characters. Moving forward without deals in place for the film’s two most vital roles, for instance, isn’t exactly inspiring confidence for how far the sequel can go.

 
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