After facing several setbacks and losses, Disney is willing to go as far back as ancient Polynesia in order to redeem itself. In a surprise and shocking announcement, Disney announced that for this year’s Thanksgiving, its toon feature will be an animated sequel to its previous blockbuster, Moana 2.
Despite the fact that a live-action version of the original classic is already in development, featuring Dwayne Johnson, Moana 2 will be an independent story taking the Disney princess on yet another Oceania adventure. However, many fans of the animated classic were left disappointed when revealed that Lin-Manuel Miranda would not be returning for the sequel.
Disney Announces Sequel to Its Hit Animated Film, Moana
In a surprise announcement to CNBC, Disney Boss Bob Iger revealed that the studio will be releasing a surprise sequel to the 2016 film Moana on this year’s Thanksgiving. Originally slated to be a series, the feature was turned into a movie following the results of Nielsen’s year-end rankings (via THR). According to the rankings, Moana was the most streamed film in 2023 at 11.6 billion minutes of viewing.
“Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise and we can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when Moana 2 comes to theaters this November.”
Stated Iger despite a live-action version starring Dwayne Johnson already in the works. Although there is no word whether the movie will feature Johnson as Maui the demigod or if Auli’i Cravalho will reprise her role of Moana, they are expected to return.
But what really hurt the feelings of the fans was the absence of Lin-Manuel Miranda from the sequel, despite him penning the Oscar-nominated song How Far I’ll Go for the 2016 movie. A Pulitzer Prize and Grammy-winning artist, Miranda is one of the most celebrated artists, well-known among Disney fans for his works. And so not having him in the sequel might turn out to be a major bane for the studio.
Fans Disappointed That Lin-Manuel Miranda Will Not be Returning For Moana 2
Lin-Manuel Miranda is a five-time Grammy-winning artist, who has written award-winning hits for Disney previously. However, it is his song for Moana, How Far I’ll Go, that has become a true fan-favorite over the years with millions of streams on platforms like Spotify (via The Scotsman). Even on YouTube, the song has over 1.2 billion views and counting.
Thanks to its inspirational lyrics and catchy tone, the song by the Hamilton songwriter has been a game changer for the Disney movie (see uDiscoverMusic). And so to not have Miranda featuring on the sequel or participating in co-writing songs, fans have been calling it a major Red Flag.
Oh man. That's a red flag if I've ever seen one.
— AaronShack64TV (@aaronshack64TV) February 7, 2024
Making a Moana sequel without Lin-Manuel Miranda? https://t.co/4EdBiOktia pic.twitter.com/SNORHzALsM
— Tess Fabeck ✌🏻 (@tkfabeck) February 7, 2024
I was on board with a sequel for a whole 2 hours. pic.twitter.com/d7RDoMf5ed
— Philly Philly 🦅🅰️🐕 (@MonsieurPhilly) February 7, 2024
I typically find Lin-Manuel unbearably corny but I have to hand it to him, every single song in Moana was a banger. The fact he’s not involved doesn’t seem like a great sign https://t.co/alEqyFLhJE
— I don’t even own a lightsaber (@postbusters2k16) February 8, 2024
Me dragging Lin-Manuel Miranda back to the studio for Moana 2 pic.twitter.com/xEqrzfckkv
— OrdinaryishPerson (@nicknameblue) February 8, 2024
This is a mistake. Moana has one the best Disney soundtracks and Lin-Manuel is a big reason why. https://t.co/tN1QhlcebA
— Munir Abedrabbo Campana (@maac027) February 7, 2024
While Moana 2 not featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda is a big disappointment for the fans, it would be worth waiting and watching how the movie turns out, given the surprising reactions of the fans. Since Disney movies have so far failed to hit the spot since Moana (see Variety), it would be a feat to see if Moana 2 lives up to its prequel’s success or ends up as yet another failed initiative.
Moana 2 will be in theatres on November 27, 2024, while the live-action is expected to be released on June 27, 2025.
