Moana 3 is in development at Disney, according to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
When speaking at a press conference to promote the new live-action Moana film, Johnson confirmed that Moana 3 is actively in the works. According to Variety, the film will be written by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, both of whom penned the scripts for Moana 2 and the live-action remake.
“Yes, we have talked about Moana 3, yes,” Johnson 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.”
Animated movies take quite a while to produce, so it will likely be a few years before this sees the light of day. The live-action remake of Moana is set to hit theaters next weekend, though the trailers haven’t been well received. Some have questioned the need to remake a beloved animated movie that is barely a decade old, but How to Train Your Dragon’s live-action remake proved that people are, in fact, interested in these kinds of remakes.
Lilo & Stitch’s live-action reimagining also made over $1 billion at the box office last summer. Disney has already put a sequel into development with a summer 2028 release date. Perhaps the live-action Moana film will be one of the first of these live-action remakes to crumble, especially given competition from films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Minions & Monsters, and Disney’s own Toy Story 5.
Moana 2 also received middling reviews upon release, despite cracking the billion-dollar mark at the box office. IGN gave the sequel a 6/10 in its review: “The ill-conceived Moana 2 is a reminder of what was noteworthy in the original, namely the songs and the humorous supporting characters. While the sequel gets some laughs, it doesn’t make the world Moana introduced eight years ago feel richer or more exciting. The few aspects with potential to turn this into a memorable odyssey – including an intriguing new character – are unfortunately stifled.”
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
