Well, this one comes out of nowhere. A $682.6 million global box office winner that has surely grossed just as much as that in toys, games, merchandise, and ancillary products, if not more, today Disney’s Bob Iger made the surprise announcement of a sequel to the animated hit “Moana.” And here’s more of a shocker: it’s basically done and ready to come out this year in November. “Moana 2,” Disney Animation’s all-new feature-length sequel to 2016’s Oscar-nominated film, will be released in theaters in 2024.
READ MORE: Disney Announces’ Toy Story 5,’ ‘Frozen 3,’ Mandalorian & Grogu’ For 2026 & More
On top of its box office success, “Moana” was nominated in the Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song categories at the 89th Academy Awards. The original film starred Auliʻi Cravalho as the voice of Moana and also featured the voice of Dwayne Johnson as the character Maui. “Moana” also featured the voice work of Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk. A live-action “Moana” with Johnson reprising his role once again, is still seemingly in the works too, though one does wonder if this animated sequel changes things.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2024
“Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise,” said Iger in a statement, “and we can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when ‘Moana 2’ comes to theaters this November.”
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical “Moana 2” takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui, and a brand-new 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.
No cast is specified yet, but presumably, Cravalho and Johnson are back at least. “Moana” was initially scheduled to be a series that came out in 2023, so it’s easy to speculate that Disney looked at a polished multiple-episode series that reportedly had a movie budget and thought, “Yeah, we can cut this down into a film.”
Directed by Dave Derrick Jr. with music by Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foa’i, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina, “Moana 2” opens in theaters on November 27, 2024. That’s the same day as Universal’s “Wicked Part One,” and one had to wonder if Uni is rethinking the date now.
Disney announced two additions to its release schedule, “Zootopia 2” for November 26, 2025, and officially named their untitled “Alien” movie “Alien Romulus,” which was always the working title anyhow. *emoji shrug*
ALIEN: ROMULUS (20th) is the updated title of the previous UNTITLED ALIEN EVENT MOVIE dated on 8/16/24
ZOOTOPIA 2 (Disney) is the updated title of the previous UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION dated on 11/26/25
A first-look image and special look at the film are now available ‘elow..
