The announcement of Moana 2 that got here out of nowhere was a pleasing early 2024 shock for a lot of, particularly when it is set to reach later this yr, however there’s trigger for concern.
As we beforehand defined, the unique plan was to make a Moana follow-up collection unique to Disney+ as a substitute of a theatrical sequel. Nevertheless, latest (self-inflicted) streaming market situations have triggered Disney to do a tough pivot in the direction of fewer collection and extra films. , the tried-and-tested components that turned Disney right into a seemingly unbeatable transmedia behemoth within the 2010s.
Those that’d been intently following the information from Disney’s animation department knew this alteration could not have probably occurred too way back, as Disney likes to announce what’s within the works properly prematurely of the discharge dates and the Moana Disney+ collection was believed to nonetheless be in improvement final yr. Animators and VFX artists certainly aren’t too joyful about this difficult pivot meant to get an animated blockbuster prepared for Thanksgiving 2024, however it additionally appears to be like like the primary film’s stars, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, weren’t confirmed to return till very just lately.
Whereas we discovered shortly after the announcement that Johnson, who’s additionally prepping for the live-action Moana remake (sure, this quickly), was right down to voice Maui once more, Cravalho’s involvement wasn’t as clear. Now, Deadline has confirmed she’ll be again within the titular position. Furthermore, she confirmed the information herself by way of Instagram.
Imagine it or not, it seems that each actors weren’t meant to return for the now-dead Moana collection, as Disney’s animated collection’ manufacturing budgets are sometimes unfold thinner and a great way to maintain prices down is to solid new, much less well-known voices for the returning characters. The very fact we’re solely now getting affirmation the celebrities of the unique film are starting to document their strains highlights how a lot of a rush job this theatrical launch is wanting.
Will Disney’s monetary energy and well-greased animation pipeline make the swap from present to less-than-two-hours film really feel proper when Moana 2 opens on November 27, 2024? We will solely hope for the very best and put together for the worst.