Moana 2 is one of the biggest movies coming out in 2024, with new characters, villains, and adventures. Disney revealed that they were going to be making a sequel to the very popular original movie, Moana, along with many more movies including Mufasa: The Lion King, Zootopia 2, Lilo and Stitch, the live-action Snow White, and so many more. The movie was released in theaters on Nov. 26.
There wasn’t a lot revealed about what would happen in the movie, but one could see some details through the trailers or teasers. The trailer reveals that Moana has a new little sister named Simea, who is three and a half years old. While living on the island, Moana gets an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors. She then sets out on a journey to the far seas of Oceania. On her way there, she is looking to reconnect the people of the ocean from across the different islands. Moana gets to meet new people along the way, including her new enemies Matangi and Nalo. Matangi is shown in the trailer as a woman who is surrounded by bats in a glowing purple orb. According to an article by Screen Rant, “Matangi was designed as a direct contrast to Moana and doesn’t want the people of the ocean to be united, and claims Maui and Moana will be destroyed.” Meanwhile, Nalo is seen as a storm god full of rage and anger. According to the same article, “Nalo keeps a mysterious island called Motu Fetu shrouded in glowing, menacing storm clouds, with water sprouts and tornados stretching down to the sea and earth.” This becomes a great problem for Moana because of the great forces Nalo holds over the island of Motu Fetu. Moana has to figure out a way to get through the storm and get onto the island.
With the new sequel being released, many are interested to see what the total box office amount will be. In 2016, when the original Moana came out, it made a worldwide total gross of $687.2 million, with $56,631,401 of that in the first weekend alone. But will the new movie beat the original in total gross? As of Nov. 7, Moana 2 is to open at a gross of $135 million. This would be the new opening box office record for Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S.
Many of the cast and crew members from the original movie are not returning to be a part of the team for the second film. One of these members is Lin-Manuel Miranda. He helped compose and was one of the film’s songwriters for the original movie but is not going to return in Moana 2. Many are unsure why Miranda is not returning for the sequel, and Disney has not released any information on the topic. But this hasn’t stopped Disney from making the movie. They decided to hire new composers instead. The songwriters include Abigail Barlow who worked for the Kelly Clarkson Show and helped write, record, produce, and engineer the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Album. Emily Bear has acted and helped compose in The Premise, A Dog’s Journey, and Disney Dream Big Princess. Along with them, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foa´i who helped compose the music in Moana, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina who has helped score over 60 movies including Bad Boys, Moana, Tarzan, Twister, Planes, and so many more also returned to help.
Even before the movie came out, there was excitement and positive promotion all over the internet. When Disney first announced that they wanted to come out with a sequel to the original movie, many people were skeptical about how the movie was going to turn out. There was some information released through the trailers, Instagram posts, and articles but no one truly knows what is going to happen until they see it for themselves. Whether it is going to be like the previous movies that have disappointed many or the sequel of Inside Out 2 that everyone has loved, one thing that is true is the movie is sure to intrigue many.
