Disney surprised its audience with the announcement of Moana 2 and its 2024 release date, and this new story must answer the biggest question about Maui’s (Dwayne Johnson) story left by the first movie. Disney continues to be the powerhouse in animation, and while it keeps exploring a variety of stories, places, and characters, it hasn’t stopped introducing new princesses in its animated stories. One of its most recent and popular animated movies is Moana, directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, which introduced viewers to the title daughter of the chief of the Polynesian island of Motunui.
The inhabitants of Motunui worship the goddess of nature, Te Fiti, who brought life to the ocean. One day, the shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea, Maui, stole Te Fiti’s heart to give humanity the power of creation, causing Te Fiti to disintegrate. A thousand years later, the ocean chooses Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) to return the heart to Te Fiti, and so she sets sail in search of Maui so she can save her people. Moana was a critical and commercial success, but it took it eight years to finally get a sequel, and now that it’s real, Moana 2 must answer the biggest question about Maui’s backstory.
How Disney Is Releasing Moana 2 Just 9 Months After First Announcement
Disney has announced Moana 2 for a 2024 release just nine months away. How did the studio manage to hide the surprise and get it done so quick?
Moana Reveals That Maui’s Family Abandoned Him (But Never Explains Why)
After stealing the heart of Te Fiti, Maui lost his magic fishhook, which allowed him to shapeshift into any animal, and the heart, cursing the world and causing the ocean to suffer. When Moana finds Maui, and after a rocky beginning, she convinces him to redeem himself by returning the heart, but first, he has to find his fishhook. As they spend more and more time together and go through different, wild situations, Maui starts to open up to Moana, revealing parts of his backstory and what led him to steal the heart of Te Fiti in the first place.
Maui was born to human parents many centuries before the events of Moana, but his parents threw him into the sea when he was an infant and left him for dead. Maui was saved by the gods, who raised him and granted him supernatural abilities, immortality, and his fishhook, thus turning him into a demigod. The cruel abandonment from his parents scarred Maui, who felt rejected among humans and used his powers to benefit and please mankind so he could earn their love and validation.
Maui got what he wanted, but the more acclaimed he was, the bigger his actions to please humans, leading him to steal the heart of Te Fiti. Unfortunately, stealing the heart made way for darkness and the birth of a wrathful lava demon named Te Kā, leading to Maui’s banishment to a desolate island, where he would have to spend all eternity as punishment. Maui redeemed himself with Moana’s help, but the reason why his biological parents abandoned him was never explained.
Moana 2 Must Answer The Biggest Question About Maui’s Backstory
Luckily, Moana 2 will not only bring back the title princess but also Maui, and while plot details haven’t been revealed yet, the sequel will reportedly see Moana journeying into the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure after receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors. Moana 2 is the perfect chance to explore more of Maui’s backstory, especially why his human parents abandoned him. The answer to this big mystery could make Maui a more layered character or even reveal other powers he didn’t know he had, and could further help him make peace with his past and with humans.
Moana 2
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated adventure film about a young woman named Moana who journeys into the sea to end her island’s curse. The film will see the return of Dwayne Johnson as the eccentric and musical demigod, with Auli’i Cravalho expected to reprise her role.
- Director
- Dave Derrick Jr.
- Release Date
- November 27, 2024
