The success of the 2016 animated adventure, Moana, has opened the corridor for a sequel. The 2016 Disney animated adventure sequel starring Dwayne Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho is now on the road to the theatrical release.

Introducing the movie at this year’s CinemaCon, Johnson showed off a couple of ethnic dance moves. Johnson, who recently had a splendid run at WWE and announced his departure from wrestling for a while, is now focusing more on his upcoming slates, which include Moana 2.

Dwayne Johnson Performed an Ethnic Dance At CinemaCon

CinemaCon audiences were in for a treat as Dwayne Johnson made a surprise appearance showing off a few dance moves alongside Polynesian dancers before introducing his upcoming film Moana 2.

After his dance for a few seconds, the action megastar went on to give a sneak peek of the upcoming film. “As we say on the island, aloha,” he said at CinemaCon (via The Hollywood Reporter). “Playing the character of Maui is one of the most life-changing life experiences for me and life changing roles.”

Johnson further explained the essence of the film, “For those of you may not know, it was deeper than a character,” he said (via Deadline).

“It’s my culture, you guys can see I wear it on my chest, my body, my tattoo, and also the character of Maui was inspired from my grandfather, the high chief, Peter Maivia… Those of you don’t know… high chief Peter Maivia, and you see his picture and see Maui. So, it’s so much than a movie to me. I know it’s so much deeper to Disney as well.”
The actor further said that the movie is all fresh with a new crew and promises all new songs for the global audience to love the essence of the culture and adventure of it.

Moana 2 Was Originally Developed As A TV Series For Disney+

The success of Moana was astonishing as the movie went on to gross over $687 million at the global box office against a production budget of $150 million which is 4.6 times the production budget of worldwide gross (per The Numbers). Also, the movie has record-breaking streaming numbers for which Disney originally planned Moana 2 as a series for Dinsey+. “The original Moana film from 2016 recently crossed 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+,” Disney boss Bob Iger previously said (via THR).

“And was the most streamed movie of 2023 on any platform in the U.S. Along with the live-action version of the original film that’s currently in development, 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.”

Beyond the astonishing box office record, the movie also received two Academy Award nominations, including the best-animated feature. Moana universe is expanding, with a live-action Moana also in the works at Disney starring superstar talent, Johnson. Moana 2 is helmed by David G. Derrick.

Moana 2 will hit the theaters on 27 November 2024.