Disney surprised the world with the announcement of Moana 2 coming in November 2024, and this actually makes another live-action adaptation of a Disney animated movie more likely now. Back in 2016, Disney brought the animated musical movie Moana, directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, which took the audience to the Polynesian island of Motunui. Its inhabitants worship the goddess of nature, Te Fiti, whose heart was stolen by the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to give humanity the power of creation.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), the daughter of Motunui’s chief Tui, is chosen by the ocean to return the heart to Te Fiti. Moana then sets sail in search of Maui so she can return the heart and save her people. Moana was a critical and commercial success, but unlike other Disney hits, the world of Moana has taken longer to expand. Now, eight years after the release of the first movie, Moana 2 is finally being released, but its live-action adaptation is coming out in 2025 – and this is actually great news for another highly-anticipated live-action remake.
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 2 Proves Disney Doesn’t Mind Its Animated & Live-Action Movies Overlapping
Disney has been riding the wave of live-action remakes for years now, and even though not all of them have succeeded, the Mouse House continues to give its animated stories the live-action treatment. In April 2023, a live-action adaptation of Moana was announced, despite the animated version having come out not long ago. Moana 2 and the live-action remake will have a release gap of less than a year between them, proving that Disney doesn’t mind its animated and live-action projects overlapping.
So far, live-action adaptations of Disney’s animated works have come out once the movie series is done, giving enough time between them to not tire the audience with the same content in different versions. With the release of Moana 2 and the live-action remake keeping its release date, Disney is breaking this pattern, making it possible for other animated movies and their live-action counterparts to overlap, as well.
Moana’s Sequel Update Bodes Well For A Live-Action Frozen Movie
Disney has a long list of live-action remakes either scheduled for a release in the near future or in development, but there’s one that has been rumored to be in development for a while now, but there has been no official word from Disney yet: Frozen. The world of Frozen has become a franchise with animated movies, short films, a TV special, and more, and at the time of writing, there are two sequels – Frozen III and Frozen 4 – in development.
Frozen was released in 2013, and even though the movie series continues (and doesn’t show signs of stopping soon), Moana 2 shows that it’s possible for Disney to develop a live-action adaptation while also producing more animated sequels, as the studio doesn’t mind these overlapping. This gives hope for Disney to finally start developing a Frozen live-action adaptation sooner than expected, although it’s also to be seen how the overlapping of Moana 2 and the live-action adaptation works out, as this backfiring could further delay a live-action version of Frozen.
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.
- Release Date
- November 27, 2024
- Director
- Dave Derrick Jr.
- Cast
- Dwayne Johnson
