The first Moana 2 teaser trailer is here, and it looks pretty enough but… well, it doesn’t really tell us much about what’s going on.
It’s been almost eight whole years since the first Moana released, and the first trailer for its sequel (quite simply titled Moana 2) is here to offer a first look at the upcoming Disney film. The Rock, Maui himself, was kind enough to share the trailer on his own personal YouTube channel (an odd marketing tactic that personalities like him and Ryan Reynolds appear to have adopted in recent years), and to be honest, it doesn’t really point towards what the film will be like. Sure, it’s a teaser trailer, but mostly it’s just moody, nicely lit shots of Moana in different places not doing all that much, which I’m assuming won’t be the whole thing.
An official synopsis does tell us a bit more though: “Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a 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.” David G. Derrick Jr., who’s worked as a storyboard artist on films like Megamind, Rise of the Guardians, and the first Moana, is making his feature length directorial debut with this one.
On music this time is musical pair Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, with both Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina also returning from the first film. It sounds like Lin-Manuel Miranda won’t be back for it though, so don’t expect any of his usual rhythmic trappings anywhere in the sequel.
Up until early February, Moana 2 was actually meant to be a series, but clearly that didn’t work well for Disney’s plans, so now it will be released as a film November 27. Main cast members Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson weren’t even confirmed to be returning until the end of February, so it’s clear this whole move was a bit of a scramble for Disney. The house of mouse is also making the quite odd decision to do a live-action remake of the 2016 original film, currently set to release in 2026, with Johnson also returning to the role of Maui. There’s always money to be made, I guess.