The first official trailer for Moana 2 is here, promising more music, magic and adventure for its titular heroine.
“Three years since her first voyage, Moana is on an expansive journey in search of people beyond the shores of Motunui,” reads the synopsis released alongside the trailer on Wednesday, May 29. “Joined by Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.”
Disney announced the sequel to 2016’s Moana in February and set a November 27 release date. The OG film’s star, Auliʻi Cravalho, subsequently confirmed that she would reprise her role as Moana in the new installment.
“That feeling when you’re officially returning to [fictional Polynesian island] Motunui,” she wrote over a video of her lip-syncing to Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
She captioned the clip, “We’re sailing WAY beyond the reef this November … #Moana2.”
In addition to Cravalho, 23, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will return as the lovably egotistical demigod Maui and Alan Tudyk will reprise his role as Moana’s pet rooster, Heihei.
Johnson, 52, took to Instagram earlier this month to share some adorable snaps of his daughter Jasmine, 8, accompanying him to a recording session for Moana 2.
“That’s an official wrap (for now) on MAUI’s portion of our upcoming MOANA 2,” he captioned the photos of Jasmine watching him work and taking photos of him. “As you see I had the greatest motivation to help me push thru to keep me strong 😉❤️. The more down this windy road of life I go, the more I realize that my greatest and most comforting inspiration and joy, is being loved by my daughters. I have a feeling this little one already knows that about her daddy.”
Johnson shares Jasmine and daughter Tiana, 6, with wife Lauren Hashian and daughter Simone, 22, with ex-wife Dany Garcia. He and Cravalho were originally supposed to reunite for a Moana television series, but Disney decided the project would work better as a film.
“We were impressed by what we saw, and knew it deserved a theatrical release,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said of the change during a February earnings call, per The Hollywood Reporter. He added that the original film surpassed 1 billion minutes of viewing on Disney+in 2023, highlighting its continued popularity.
Moana 2 is written and directed by David G. Derrick Jr. Its predecessor was written by Jared Bush and directed by John Musker and Rob Clements.
Moana 2 sails into theaters on November 27.
