Surprise! Disney announced the sequel to their modern animated classic Moana yesterday on CNBC during their first earnings report of 2024. Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the story was initially set to be a short TV series on Disney+ but was upgraded to a feature film after Iger and the Disney team were impressed with the footage. 

According to the newly released synopsis published in Variety, Moana 2 is set to take families on an “expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui, and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.”

The new film is directed by Dave Derrick Jr., who worked as a story artist on the original. Also returning are Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina, who worked on the original music with Hamilton and Encanto songwriter Lin Manuel Miranda. Miranda wrote popular songs for the original film like “You’re Welcome” and “How Far I’ll Go,” the latter of which was nominated for Best Original Song at that year’s Academy Awards.

Miranda is not set to return for Moana 2, but new composers Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, known for the Bridgerton Musical, have been hired to replace him. In a TikTok released after the news broke, Bear expressed excitement over the pair being the youngest composers to write music for a Disney Movie. Mean Girls star and original voice of Moana, Auliʻi Cravalho, also joked about keeping the film a secret on TikTok. 

During the earnings call, Iger stated, “Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise. We can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when Moana 2 comes to theaters this November.”

Moana’s popularity has only grown since its release. Although it was an undeniable hit in 2016, with it receiving critical praise for its music and cultural authenticity and raking in $680 million at the box office, it has had an incredible boom in popularity on streaming. In 2023, Moana was streamed for 1 billion hours. It frequently tops Nielsen’s yearly streaming charts, with them reporting that the movie has been watched at least 775 million times since they began reporting streaming numbers. 

Moana 2 is set to release on November 27, 2024. Watch the brief teaser below!