Movies Moana returns to the ocean in first Moana 2 trailer The sea... it calls her. By Maureen Lee Lenker Maureen Lee Lenker Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen. EW's editorial guidelines Published on May 29, 2024 09:03AM EDT She comes back to the water, no matter how hard she tries... The first trailer for the highly anticipated sequel Moana 2 splashed down on Wednesday. Developed initially as a series for Disney+, the follow-up to the hit 2016 animated film now gives the ocean explorer a full theatrical follow-up. Set to hit theaters Nov. 27, the film features return voice performances from Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson as Moana and the Hawaiian god Maui, respectively. The trailer showcases the now-older Moana reuniting with Maui on a mission to reconnect her people "across the entire ocean," she says, meeting all sorts of oceanic creatures and obstacles along the way. Set three years after the original film, the sequel "takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui, and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers," according to a description from Walt Disney Studios. "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." Auli‘i Cravalho returns to voice the titular heroine in 'Moana 2'. Disney Surprise! Moana 2 is sailing to theaters this November — see the first look Johnson teased the trailer's release on social media on Tuesday, sharing a poster for the film featuring Maui's hook and Moana's oar stuck in the sand to form the number two. In the background, we can see Moana blowing on a conch as the sun sets (or perhaps rises?). "The ocean is calling her back," Johnson wrote. "Experience the new trailer for Disney's Moana 2 tomorrow and see the movie only in theaters November 27, 2024! — Maui." Dave Derrick Jr., who served as story director for Strange World and worked in the art department for other Disney films like the original Moana and Encanto, will direct the film. Dwayne Johnson returns to voice Maui in 'Moana 2'. Disney Moana is back and visibly older in new Moana 2 photo Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who worked on music for the first film, will not return. His collaborators, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa, will instead team with Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, who won a Grammy for their Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, to write original songs. Disney is also still currently developing a live-action reimagining of Moana.