Did you know that Moana 2 has a post-credit scene? If you haven’t seen the movie currently dominating the box office alongside Wicked, you may not have known that there was a mid-credit sequence that happens in the sequel. But there is, and apparently it evolved quite a bit before it made it to your screen.
In a new interview with Collider, co-directors Dana Ledoux Miller, David Derrick Jr., and Jason Hand spoke at length about the film’s development process, the various Disney Easter Eggs involved, and much more. However, we were most intrigued by the details surrounding the creation of the scene in the movie credits that opens up Moana (Auli’i Cravalho)’s world in ways that are sure to be continued in the next installment of her adventures with Maui (Dwayne Johnson).
Needless to say, but if you don’t want to be spoiled on it, maybe don’t read on!
What Does ‘Moana 2’s Mid-Credit Scene Mean for ‘Moana 3’ and How/Why Did It Change?
If you thought the goddess Matangi was the Big Bad of Moana 2, it’s understandable, but ultimately she was more of a red herring for who/what awaited our heroes shortly thereafter: Nalo, the lightning and thunder-y god of storms (voiced by actor Tofiga Fepulea’i). In the film, Nalo is seen guarding Motufetu, the island Moana is tasked with saving from a centuries-long curse, which she and Maui can only do if they can make it past the angry god’s stormy exterior, complete with menacing clouds, lightning and tornadoes.
In the final sequence with Nalo, however—which appears midway through the credits roll in the film—we see that, despite overcoming him at the end of the film, the god of storms is still very much around and ready to take revenge on Moana and Maui for defeating him.
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According to the directors, this scene was always going to be a part of Moana’s story in some capacity. Per Miller:
“It was baked in, but there was a last-minute change to it. It was something that kept evolving the way the rest of the story did. I think the foundation of it was we introduced a demigod and a god into the world, and we really just like the idea of having a little bit more.”
Though evasive on the specifics, it seems easy to deduce that this scene’s change likely had to do with the fact that Moana 2 was originally supposed to be a television series for Disney+. It wasn’t until February 2024 that CEO Bob Iger announced that the story was actually be re-worked into a feature film. According to Derrick, however, the jump from small screen to large only strengthened Moana’s journey. “It was always the same overarching story and emotional journey that we wanted to tell every time,” he explained. “What the series gave us was an opportunity to get to know these characters intimately, the way you can with a series, but what we were doing in the story just begged for a bigger and bigger screen. So, as soon as we funneled all of the learnings from our new characters through Moana’s journey, it actually just strengthened Moana’s growth and the theme of the story. So, there wasn’t, for me, anything left out from the series. We were able to learn things from the series that just supercharged the feature.”Now we just have to wait and see what sort of future awaits Moana and her crew: a third feature installment? The return of the television series? We’ll be here waiting for a message from the ancestors (or just some big fancy press release from Disney) until then.
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
Release Date November 27, 2024
Director David G. Derrick Jr. , Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller
Cast Auli’i Cravalho , Dwayne Johnson , Alan Tudyk , Rachel House , Temuera Morrison , Nicole Scherzinger , Hualālai Chung , David Fane , Rose Matafeo , Awhimai Fraser , Gerald Ramsey , Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda
Runtime 100 Minutes
Studio(s) Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Character(s) Moana , Maui , Hei Hei , Tala , Chief Tui , Sina , Moni , Kele , Loto , Matangi , Tautai Vasa , Simea
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