Posted in: Disney, Movies | Tagged: dwayne johnson, live-action moana, live-action remake, moana, moana 2

Dwayne Johnson In Talks For Moana 2, Live-Action Remake Updates

Dwayne Johnson is reportedly in talks to return for Moana 2, but he has also let it slip that the search for the live-action Moana has ended.

Yesterday, we got the surprise announcement that not only is Moana 2 happening, but it's happening later this year. Initially set to be a TV series, the film is being converted into a feature film released theatrically on November 27th. It's not every day that animated movies come out of nowhere, considering how long they tend to make, but this one certainly did. There is a decent chance this Iger is trying to bring back more theatrical movies rather than relying on television shows that were likely greenlit under previous Disney leadership. However, how this movie came to be has left some of the details surrounding the project vague, and the biggest thing is whether or not any cast members are returning. Both Auli'i Cravalho, the voice of Moana, and Dwayne Johnson, the voice of Maui, shared the news on their social media, but Deadline is reporting that Johnson's in talk to voice Maui again, and "it's looking good." As for Cravalho, she is also in talks, "but they aren't as close as Johnson's."

More Moana For Everyone

It's not surprising that Moana 2 is coming out because that film was beyond massive. The film was released in 2016 and went on to make just under $700 million worldwide at the box office, and it walked away with two Oscar nominations. The biggest thing that likely led to this decision is that Moana, to this day, does massive numbers on Disney+, and another film like this is likely Disney trying to play it safe, all things considered. 2023 wasn't a great year for one of the biggest companies in the industry, and they had some of the highest-profile flops of the year. So it makes sense that not only do they want to promote the return to theatrical releases, but they also want something that will bring in a ton of money, so Moana 2 is it.

On the live-action side, which also has a release date of June 27, 2025, things on the remake of Moana are moving along, too, according to Johnson in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. While Deadline was reporting that it seemed likely that the remake wouldn't make that release date, Johnson is making it sound like things are moving along nicely behind the scenes. He confirmed that he was "excited" to start shooting this year and that "The scale should be beautiful." He also seemingly confirmed that the big news about this film is that they have found their Moana.

"One of the exciting things about that was actually finding our Moana and how exciting that has been," Johnson said. "The global search to find our Moana — which — between you and I, we found her — not gonna tell you yet. [It's] very exciting."

Dwayne, that's how you get an angry Bob calling you and waving around giant NDAs. He also confirmed some more behind-the-scenes stuff: "Lin Manuel Miranda's coming back. We're doing the music. Tommy Kail is our director, who directed Hamilton," he said. "You put everybody together, and you want to put the best team together, and then you really go for it."

While Deadline is reporting that Johnson isn't locked in for Moana 2, he is involved on some level by how he described it to ET, saying, "It's very exciting. I can't wait for fans to see the film, the technology, the effects, cutting edge. We all really went for it. We thought if we're gonna make a sequel to something so beloved, let's really go for it. … You also have the benefit and the beauty of the ocean. In Moana… the ocean is alive, so when the ocean has a heartbeat and a pulse, that's just a whole different thing. I can't wait. All new music, which we're excited." So apparently, there have been a lot of Moana things going on at Disney behind the scenes these days. Now that Johnson has spilled the beans that the search is over the live-action Moana, that will likely light a fire under Disney to officially announce the casting. Should they start production this year, as Johnson says, they should be able to make that release date.

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