[1][2] Dwayne Johnson, Auliʻi Cravalho, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger and Alan Tudyk reprise their roles from the original film and are joined by Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser and Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda.

Set three years later, it follows the titular character reuniting with the demigod Maui and assembling a wayfinding crew to find the lost island of Motufetu, break its curse, and reconnect the people of the ocean.

Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi, the composers and co-songwriters of the first film, returned to score and write the songs, while Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replace Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters.

She assembles a crew of people from Motunui—clever craftswoman Loto, historian and Maui fanboy Moni, and grumpy elderly farmer Keke, alongside her pet pig and rooster, Pua and Heihei—to follow the path of a comet across the ocean towards Motufetu.

One member of the Kakamora, Kotu, helps the crew paralyze a gargantuan monster clam inside of which is Matangi's lair.

Moana, realizing that Nalo is trying to stop the humans from breaking the curse, asks Maui to lift the island enough for her to touch it.

Maui, having also regained his powers as a demigod, finally raises Motufetu and helps Moana reconnect the people with the ocean.

The crew returns home to Motunui, leading a flotilla of the peoples of the ocean, and a celebration is held in Moana's honor.

In a mid-credits scene, Nalo plans his revenge and is about to punish Matangi for helping Moana, when the giant crab Tamatoa arrives to join his cause.

[17] Tofiga Fepulea'i voices the storm god and main antagonist Nalo in the mid-credits scene, which also features the giant coconut crab Tamatoa from the first film, reprised by Jemaine Clement.

"[20] In January 2024, Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman "informed the team that they needed to shift rapidly from making a five-episode streaming series to a second Moana feature film".

[20] In February 2024, Disney CEO Bob Iger officially announced that the series had been reworked into a theatrical sequel titled Moana 2, with Derrick and Shurer remaining attached to the project.

[27] Iger explained that this occurred after Disney executives saw early footage: "We were impressed with what we saw and knew it deserved a theatrical release".

[28] By the release of the first trailer in May, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller were confirmed as co-directors alongside Derrick, while Christina Chen and Yvett Merino were revealed to replace Shurer as the film's producers.

[1] Shortly after the announcement that the series was being repurposed into a theatrical feature film, Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson were confirmed to reprise their respective roles as Moana and Maui.

[10][11][13][14] Johnson later confirmed that he had been involved with the project since its conception, including its development, stating: "I can't wait for fans to see the film, the technology, the effects, cutting edge.

[29] She was delighted when the film's directors allowed her to record Moana's lines at age 19 with her natural voice as a woman in her early twenties.

[33] Bear focused on studying the existing Moana score, with its Polynesian instrumentation, and learning how to write songs with that musical vocabulary.

[34] Meanwhile, Disney Animation moved forward with Barlow and Bear, and they were "already cooking" by the time the decision was made to turn the streaming series into a feature-length sequel.

[34] On November 7, 2024, Disney revealed a full tracklist, along with the first single "Beyond" by Cravalho which was billed as a spiritual sequel to the original Moana anthem, "How Far I'll Go".

[46] Like the first movie, Moana 2 was released in European countries[47][48][49] with the title and protagonist's name changed to Vaiana due to a trademark conflict.

The website's consensus reads: "Riding high on a wave of stunning animation even when its story runs adrift, Moana 2 isn't as inspired as the original but still delights as a colorful adventure.