Another day, another newly-announced Disney sequel…
On Wednesday evening, the Walt Disney Company announced another of its modern classics would be getting a follow-up movie, with Moana 2 confirmed to be hitting cinemas later this year.
The news was accompanied by a one-minute teaser, in which the title character was seen blowing into a conch, as well as a first-look photo from the film, showing her exploring more of the seas.
According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the Moana sequel was initially intended to be a TV series, but “we were impressed by what we saw” that it was instead reimagined as a feature-length film.
“[We] knew it deserved a theatrical release,” Iger added (via The Guardian).
Moana was a huge success for Disney upon its release in 2016, scooping Best Animated Feature at the following year’s Oscars, as well as a nomination in the Best Original Song category (although it lost out on the night to City Of Stars from La La Land).
It’s also been a hit on streaming service Disney+, and was apparently the most-streamed movie of 2023, six years after its cinematic release.
The film featured voice performances by Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as lead characters Moana and Maui.
A live-action remake was also confirmed to be in development last year, with both stars producing and The Rock thought to be reprising his role as Maui.
Moana 2 joins a growing list of Disney sequels currently in the pipeline, including Toy Story 5, Zooptopia 2 and two sequels to the hit movie Frozen.
A sequel to Pixar’s Inside Out is also hitting cinemas later this year.
Last year, Bob Iger told Disney employees the company would be “leaning into our unrivalled brands and franchises” more in the near future.
Disney’s latest animated offering, Wish, debuted towards the end of last year, to middling reviews and box office performance.