Moana 2: Auli’I Cravalho & Director Explain How Sequel Builds on Disney Movie

Moana 2 won’t only be the titular character’s journey, according to Auli’I Cravalho. With the upcoming animated sequel soon to hit theaters on November 27, Cravalho — who returns to voice Moana once again — and co-director Dana Ledoux Miller teased what the second installment will be about. 

Following Moana 2’s record-breaking trailer launch, being Disney’s biggest animated trailer ever, the surprise sequel to the hit animated feature will see how far Moana will go. 

What did Auli’I Cravalho & Dana Ledoux Miller say about Moana 2?

Cravalho, who considers her Moana role a life-changing one, shared that the spin-off will see Moana going back home now that she has a little sister and that she will venture into “new waters” as she tries to “connect all of the people of the Pacific.”

Miller, on the other hand, told Entertainment Weekly that they were really “trying to build off who Moana is in the first film.” It will build the character further instead of “replacing” her.

“We’re not going to betray that version of the character. We are building, not replacing. We were really intentional about taking what we had and extending and expanding instead of starting over again. In the first film, Moana showed incredible strength in her willingness to take off into unknown danger for the sake of her people. But now, her responsibilities are changing, and we’ve never really seen her have to lead her people day to day. It was really important to us to show her evolution in that way,” said Miller. 

Cravalho added, “This is not only her journey anymore. She must share in those responsibilities if she wants to not only get to her end destination but also make it back home. This has become an even larger quest of basic survival.”

Per the official synopsis, the upcoming spin-off will reunite “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.”

Moana 2 will also feature the return of Dwayne Johnson as Maui, Rachel House as Tala, Temuera Morrison as Tui, and Nicole Scherzinger as Sina. It is co-directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Miller.