Ahead of the release of Disney’s live-action Moana film, Maui actor Dwayne Johnson has teased that the animated franchise is also set to return with its third chapter.
As reported by Variety, Johnson dropped the news of Moana 3 while promoting its live-action adaptation at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Yes, we have talked about Moana 3,” he said. “But first, live-action Moana, we’ll let that come out first. We have [the] amazing Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, who have been our writers … they will pen Moana 3.”
The original Moana animated film was released in 2016, followed by a sequel in 2024. Both films performed well at both the box office and on streamers via Disney+, which makes the news of a threequel unsurprising. Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho, who plays the titular princess, are both expected to return for part three.
The first film saw Moana leaving the safety of her island village on a quest to find herself and save her home in the process, while the sequel saw her returning to the oceans to find a hidden island and break a curse, so the third chapter will no doubt see her take to the seas once more on a magical quest, although no plot details have been announced yet.
It’s also unclear if Lin-Manuel Miranda, the acclaimed songwriter who wrote hits in the 2016 original like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome”, will return for Moana 3, as he was not a part of the 2024 sequel, instead handing over duties to Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. He did, however, pen the new song, “Along the Way”, for the upcoming live-action rendition, which features the singing talents of both Cravalho and Catherine Laga‘aia, who portrays the live-action protagonist, alongside Johnson.
Before Moana 3 sails to theatres, its live-action reimagining will land on 10 July 2026, with Bush and Miller, who wrote the script for both animated films, returning as co-screenwriters, and Thomas Kail (Hamilton) serving as its director.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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