Entertainment Movies Children & Family Movies Dwayne Johnson Teases 'Cutting-Edge' Moana 2 and Its New Music: 'We All Really Went for It' “We thought if we're gonna make a sequel to something so beloved, let's really go for it," the actor said By Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 9, 2024 02:43PM EST Dwayne Johnson. Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Dwayne Johnson is teasing what fans can expect from Moana 2. The actor, 51, returns for the animated sequel to the 2016 hit Moana, which Disney revealed, in a surprise announcement Wednesday, will be in theaters this November. "It's very exciting. I can't wait for fans to see the film, the technology, the effects, cutting edge,” Johnson told Entertainment Tonight at the WWE WrestleMania 40 Kickoff event in Las Vegas Thursday. "We all really went for it,” he added. “We thought if we're gonna make a sequel to something so beloved, let's really go for it.” Johnson teased that one of the things fans can look forward to again is seeing the liveliness of the ocean, which played an integral role in the first film. "You also have the benefit and the beauty of the ocean. In Moana... the ocean is alive, so when the ocean has a heartbeat and a pulse, that's just a whole different thing," he said. "I can't wait." MOANA, from left, Moana (voice: Auli'i Cravalho), Maui (voice: Dwayne Johnson), 2016. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection Moana 2 Is Coming to Theaters This November, Reveals Disney in Surprise Announcement He also noted that they were “excited” about the “new music” coming to the film. The animated sequel is directed by Dave Derrick Jr., featuring music by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who did the tunes on the first film, will return for the music on the upcoming live-action reimagining of Moana, said Johnson, who will reprise his role in that version too. "Lin Manuel Miranda's coming back. We're doing the music. Tommy Kail is our director, who directed Hamilton," the star said of the live-action film. "You put everybody together and you want to put the best team together, and then you really go for it." He also shared a casting update on the live-action film, as Moana's voice actress Auli'i Cravalho previously announced she would not be returning to play the main character in the live-action iteration. "Moana 2". Walt Disney Animation Dwayne Johnson Announces Live-Action 'Moana' in the Works at Disney: 'So Excited and Happy' "One of the exciting things about that was actually finding our Moana and how exciting that has been," Johnson told ET. "The global search to find our Moana — which, between you and I, we found her; not gonna tell you yet. [It's] very exciting." According to an official synopsis, Moana 2 "takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. 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." Moana 2 is in theaters Nov. 27. Close