Dwayne Johnson Surprises CinemaCon to Debut ‘Moana 2’ First Footage, New Song Teased in Colorful Clip
variety.comRebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter What can Disney say to cinema owners except “you’re welcome“? After all, the studio is revisiting the island of Montunui, where “Moana” takes place, a lot sooner than movie theaters were expecting.
Earlier this year, the studio announced a surprise sequel to the 2016 animated feature for release on Nov. 27. The follow-up was initially commissioned as a television series for Disney+ but it was retooled into a feature film after executives were reportedly impressed by the footage.
Disney shared the first look at the scenes that wowed those Magic Kingdom creatives during its CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas on Thursday.
In the music-heavy clip, Moana returns to her home island of Montunui and is greeted with a hero’s welcome. The clip offered a taste of one new song, which appears to be about the wayfinding natives eager to be “back to who we’re meant to be.” Although the sequel will feature entirely fresh melodies, the music harkens back to the original film as the islanders hum: “The village believes in her, the village believes…” Lin-Manuel Miranda, who penned “How Far I’ll Go,” “You’re Welcome” and other earworms from “Moana,” won’t be back either.
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