Disney Sequel Updates: Moana 2 in 2024, Toy Story 5, Frozen III, and More
Today, Disney announced the surprise release of Moana 2 on November 27th. The film is a reworking of the TV series that was announced in 2020, and both Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson are expected to return as Moana and Maui. Check out a first look and Disney CEO Bob Iger’s comments (courtesy of Variety) below:
“Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise,” Iger said in a statement. “We can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when Moana 2 comes to theaters this November.”
Disney says Moana 2 is 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.”
In Disney’s Q4 investor call (via IGN), Iger also said that Toy Story 5 and Frozen III will come out in 2026. Zootopia 2 will be on November 26th, 2025.
I don’t want most of this. Part of me is almost excited by the Moana 2 announcement; I wasn’t expecting it, I prefer it to the live-action remake we’re getting, and I assume Auli’i will actually return. However, I don’t have faith it will live up to the amazing first movie, and Lin-Manuel isn’t returning to score the film. The fact that it started out as a streaming series doesn’t instill confidence in me, either. The clip they released shows us essentially nothing. Maui’s voiceover and the score from the first movie don’t prove anything about this one. The release that sounds the best is Frozen III because I thought the second one was a big improvement, and I genuinely want more. Zootopia could work as a franchise, but the first one ended well and was very self-contained. I can’t even begin to put into words how much I don’t want more Toy Story. I love Toy Story so much, especially the second one. Toy Story was my first favorite movie, and I still hold it dear. But I wish I could un-watch Toy Story 4, and we don’t need another one.
But what do you think about the clip or any of these announcements and release dates? Sound off in the comments!
Comments (1)
I’m with you on preferring the sequel over the remake. We shouldn’t judge right now if it’s going to be bad, we should lower our expectations, anticipation and what not. Granted, there weren’t a lot of films I’d call great last year except for Guardians 3, but ones like Dungeons & Dragons, Blue Beetle, and Transformers were not great, but better than I thought. Again, I don’t know what to expect with Toy Story 5 because I thought the fourth ended on a good note.
I’m with you on wanting more Frozen, since the sequel ended on an unsure note on where it goes from here. Same with Ralph Breaks the Internet. I liked how things ended, but it felt unsure on the last scene.
I’m bummed a little of Lin Manuel-Miranda not working on Moana 2, but let’s see how the songwriters of the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical do. I don’t watch the show, and I do know it’s not a musical series, but as I think now, there’s a vibe in the music in terms of anachronistic material like how Miranda added rap into Moana, Encanto and Hamilton. I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but still.
I enjoyed Moana, but I wish some things were done differently, and I felt wanting more. I agree about Zootopia, but I’m still excited for the sequel and I wonder if they’ll add new mammals or perhaps birds, reptiles and their own spin on architecture and culture. Like I said, let’s try to lower our expectations.