Bob Iger has finally admitted what we all knew to be true about Moana 2 (2024).
As was announced in February ahead of Disney’s first quarter of fiscal 2024 earnings report, Moana 2 is officially heading to movie theaters later this year after being reworked from a Disney+ series.

During the earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger explained that Walt Disney Animation made the decision because “we were impressed with what we saw and knew it deserved a theatrical release.”
However, recent quotes from the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference suggest that this wasn’t entirely the case. “We decided to convert it to a film when we saw that the 2016 version of Moana was the most streamed film of the year in the United States in 2023 on all streaming platforms,” Iger said. “It gave us reason to think, well, maybe it shouldn’t be a TV series, but a movie. And so it will be.”

Considering Disney’s recent lack of success at the box office, it would’ve been naive to think that numbers didn’t play a huge role in Disney’s decision to switch Moana 2 to the big screen. The last two installments from Walt Disney Animation – Wish (2023) and Strange World (2022) – both flopped with audiences and critics alike, meaning Disney needs something guaranteed to pull in the big bucks ASAP.
Moana is undeniably one of Disney’s most popular IPs right now, as is evident from the fact that the original film is getting a live-action remake less than a decade after it first hit theatres. However, it’s hard not to be slightly cynical when Disney openly admits that streaming figures were the biggest factor in changing course.

What’s slightly more promising is the fact that inside sources have confirmed that the footage intended for streaming was genuinely very impressive. In February, The Wrap reported that episodes from the planned TV series generated rave reviews from Disney executives who swiftly began to wonder if it could be “combined into a single theatrical experience.”
Something else to bear in mind is the fact that this isn’t the first time Disney’s switched a project from a home release to a theatre release. Back in the 1990s, Toy Story 2 (1998) was first commissioned as a direct-to-video sequel (as was Disney’s modus operandi back then) but proved so impressive that it was upgraded to a theatrical slot. If Disney plays its cards right, it may have a similar success on its hands come November.
Are you excited for Moana 2? Let us know in the comments!