Moana 2 Trailer Gathers a Crew for a Dangerous Seafaring Adventure

Walt Disney Animation Studios is giving fans a special look at Moana 2 with a new trailer. Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) has to gather a crew and set sail to a cursed island in order to restore order to her people. It’s not going to be an easy mission, but luckily Moana will have some friends along with her that she can trust, including Dwayne Johnson’s Maui. Moana 2 is everything you loved about the original 2016 film, but with a new adventure and music to help set the tone for moviegoers in November. Can Moana break the curse while fighting off monsters and angry gods? If anyone is up for the task, it’s Moana.

The sneak peek trailer for Moana 2 begins with her returning to her island and reuniting with her scrappy younger sister Simea. The younger sister has missed Moana, but we learn she’s only been gone for three days. However, she’s back with some clues to an ancient island that’s cursed by a power hungry God. If Moana can step foot on the island, she would break the curse and bring her people back together again. This is where Moana handpicks the crew to set sail with her, with scenes showing some of the dangers that await out in the waters.

Why Disney changed Moana 2 from a streaming series to movie

When Walt Disney was originally developing Moana 2, the studio envisioned it as a streaming series for Disney+. However, the decision was made to make Moana 2 a theatrical release similar to its counterpart. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly about its new Moana 2 cover story, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee opened up about the decision to pivot away from a streaming series that was already well into production.

“We constantly screen [our projects], even in drawing [phase] with sketches,” Lee said. “It was getting bigger and bigger and more epic, and we really wanted to see it on the big screen. It creatively evolved, and it felt like an organic thing.”

A similar sentiment was echoed by the filmmakers behind Moana 2, who stated that everyone working at the studio could feel the project becoming bigger and bigger as it went along.

“It became apparent very early on that this wanted to be on the big screen. It felt like a groundswell within the whole studio,” added director David G. Derrick Jr. Co-director Dana Ledoux Miller highlighted the other folks working on the movie by saying their team has “the best artists in the world” and asking, “Why are we not letting them shine on the biggest screen in the biggest way?”

What is Moana 2 about?

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical Moana 2 reunites Moana (voice of Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Johnson) 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.

Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, Moana 2 opens in theaters on November 27th.