On November 27, just one day before Thanksgiving, audiences around the world will flock to movie theaters to see Disney’s highly anticipated sequel, Moana 2. And Disney has big hopes for the animated movie.
Moana 2 will see Auli’i Cravalho return as the voice of the titular Polynesian princess, and Dwayne Johnson will return as the voice of the demigod Maui. According to Disney, the sequel will take place three years after the events of the original film.
Related: Warning: Spoilers Leaked for ‘Moana 2’, Major Plot Twist Revealed
Moana receives an unexpected and mysterious call from the ancestors and must venture to the far-off seas of Oceania. Moana will be pulled into an adventure unlike any Moana — and audiences — have seen before.
What some people might not know is that Moana 2 did not start out as a sequel film. Disney originally planned for the movie to be a Disney+ series, but Bob Iger was so impressed with what he saw that the Disney+ series was scrapped, and the episodes were pieced together to create the sequel.
Moana 2 has been the talk of the studio for months, and now we know that Disney isn’t the only entity with high hopes.
Related: ‘Moana’ Sequel Replacement Gets Update, Fans Respond
AMC Theatres recently held its Q3 earnings call, and CEO Adam Aron is expecting a lot during the holiday season. Moana 2 is not the only major film being released during that time. Wicked will hit theaters on November 22, with the date actually being moved so it was not released on the same day as Disney’s major sequel.
The following month, on December 20, another major Disney movie will also be released: Mufasa: The Lion King, a live-action prequel to Disney’s iconic 1994 animated film.
Related: Live-Action ‘The Lion King’ to Officially Replace Animated Disney Film
In a report from Deadline, Mr. Aron said that he believes Moana 2 could surpass the success seen by Inside Out 2, which was released this past June.
“Some people in the know are telling me that Moana 2 could eclipse and outshine even the success of Inside Out 2,” he beamed. By the way, Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossing movie YTD stateside with $652.9M. The Pixar sequel opened to $154.2M, the second-highest opening of the year behind Disney’s own Deadpool & Wolverine from Marvel Studios ($211.4M).
Recent six-week-in-advance projections from tracking service Quorum put Moana 2 at $100 million-plus during the five-day Thanksgiving Wednesday-Sunday frame and $75M-$82M over Friday-Sunday.
In addition to bringing back characters, we know and love — especially Hei Hei and Pua — Moana 2 will also introduce new characters and a major new villain!
Audiences will get to meet Moana’s little sister, Simea, and a shadowy figure working with Maui. Yes, Maui! The shadow figure tells Maui that they need to stop Moana, and Maui reinserts himself into her life. Hopefully, Maui is still on Moana’s side and just making the unseen villain think that he does not have a close relationship with her.
In addition to Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, Moana 2 will also star Alan Tudyk as the voice of Hei Hei. Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda will play Simea,
Temuera Morrison will be the voice of Moana’s father, Chief Tui, and Rachel House is the voice of Gramma Tala.
Tickets for Moana 2 are now on sale.
Will you be heading to the theaters over the Thanksgiving weekend to join Moana on her new adventure? What are you most looking forward to from the sequel film? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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