Cast of Moana 2: Full Cast, Release Date & New Characters

Few animated sequels manage to keep their entire vocal family together — and Moana 2 pulled it off with room to spare. Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise Moana and Maui in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ sequel, which reached theaters on November 27, 2024 (Rotten Tomatoes’ Moana 2 page).

Release date: November 27, 2024 (Rotten Tomatoes) ·
Returning main voice actors: 4+ ·
New major characters: 3+ ·
Directors: David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand & Dana Ledoux Miller ·
Total credited voices: 15+ (IMDb full credits)

Six numbers frame the sequel: one Pacific-set adventure, a PG rating, and a cast that mixes returning principals with a brand-new crew.

What is the release date of Moana 2?

The sequel took a fast path from announcement to theaters — nine months, two trailers, one firm date.

Production timeline

• Walt Disney Animation Studios confirmed Moana 2 was in production in February 2024 (Wikipedia’s Moana 2 article).
• David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller directed the sequel, succeeding the first film’s John Musker and Ron Clements.

Theatrical release

• Release date: November 27, 2024 (Rotten Tomatoes’ Moana 2 page).
• Rated PG, with a runtime of 100 minutes (IMDb).

The takeaway: Disney treated Moana 2 as a slate priority, not a side project — the pre-Thanksgiving corridor is where the studio parks its biggest family bets.

When was the Moana 2 trailer released?

Disney stayed quiet for three months after the announcement, then made up for it with a steady drip of footage.

First trailer

• The first teaser trailer arrived on May 29, 2024 (Wikipedia’s Moana 2 article).
• The teaser leaned on the original’s visual language — ocean, wayfinding, and Moana’s voice — before showing any new cast.

Subsequent trailers

• A full second trailer followed on September 10, 2024 (Wikipedia).
• Later trailers gradually introduced the new crew members to audiences, shifting focus from nostalgia to expansion.

The pattern: Disney led with returning-character nostalgia and saved the new-cast beats for the second trailer — a familiar-sequel rhythm designed to reassure fans before expanding the roster.

Are there pictures of the Moana 2 cast?

If you want to see the cast, the official art is heavy on characters, but the voices are out there too.

Official promotional images

• IMDb’s Moana 2 title page hosts the main poster set and production stills (IMDb’s Moana 2 main page).
• Rotten Tomatoes’ Moana 2 page aggregates the same promo art for quick browsing (Rotten Tomatoes).

Behind-the-scenes photos

• Behind the Voice Actors’ Moana 2 page pairs each character with the performer’s photo — the closest thing fans have to a visual cast gallery (Behind the Voice Actors).
• IMDb’s photo section also includes premiere and press images of Cravalho, Johnson, and the new performers (IMDb).

The trade-off: Disney’s official images are polished but focused on the characters; the actual faces behind the voices live on IMDb and voice-match galleries.

Who are the new characters in Moana 2?

The sequel doesn’t just re-stack the old deck — it adds a whole wayfinding crew and a bigger mythic cast.

The new wayfinding crew: Loto, Kele, and Moni

New crew: Loto · Kele · Moni  ·  Voices: Rose Matafeo · David Fane · Hualālai Chung

Disney’s official page confirms who plays whom on Moana’s new canoe crew (Disney Movies, the studio’s official Moana 2 page):

If you like tracking Disney-cast continuity, our breakdown of The Princess and the Frog: Tiana, Sequel, and Disney Princess Status covers another franchise that juggles voice casts and sequels.

Matangi and Nalo

• Awhimai Fraser voices Matangi, the character Disney ties to Nalo and bats (Disney Movies).
• Tofiga Fepuleaʻi voices Nalo in the English credits (IMDb full credits).

Simea

• Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda voices Simea, Moana’s little sister (IMDb full credits).
• Simea gives Moana a reason to speed home — a family anchor the first film never gave her.

The “bat lady” and Pua

• The “bat lady” that fans nicknamed in early footage is Matangi — Disney’s official description ties her to Nalo and bats.
• Pua, Moana’s pig from the original film, hasn’t been a visible part of the sequel’s promo push; his exact screen time remains a fan question.

The underlying pattern: in this sequel, the cast additions are all function-first — crew, family, and antagonist.

The cast additions are functional, not ornamental — every new voice serves the story.

Who voices returning characters in Moana 2?

The continuity pitch starts with the two leads and runs all the way down to the village.

Moana and Maui

• Auliʻi Cravalho is back as Moana (Disney Movies).
• Dwayne Johnson is back as Maui (IMDb full credits).

The family at Motunui

• Nicole Scherzinger (Sina), Temuera Morrison (Chief Tui), and Rachel House (Gramma Tala) all return (IMDb full credits).
• Gerald Faitala Ramsey voices Tautai Vasa, an ancestor of Moana (IMDb full credits).

Heihei and Tamatoa

• Alan Tudyk (Heihei) and Jemaine Clement (Tamatoa) round out the return list (IMDb full credits).

What this means: Disney didn’t just protect its two lead voices — it kept the whole village, the rooster, and the crab. The only truly new energy is concentrated in the crew and the mythic characters, which tells you the sequel is expanding outward, not starting over.

Moana 2 release and cast timeline

A nine-month sprint from announcement to premiere — here’s the sequence that carried the cast and crew to opening day:

The implication: nine months is a compressed runway for an animated sequel, which is why Disney leaned so hard on familiar voices to sell it.

Moana 2 cast: what’s confirmed and what’s still unclear

Separating the studio-confirmed names from community-curated credits matters more here than with most animated films.

Confirmed cast facts

• Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson lead the English cast as Moana and Maui (IMDb full credits).
• Nicole Scherzinger (Sina), Temuera Morrison (Chief Tui), and Rachel House (Gramma Tala) return (IMDb full credits).
• Rose Matafeo (Loto), David Fane (Kele), and Hualālai Chung (Moni) are the new crew, listed with character portraits on Behind the Voice Actors’ Moana 2 page.
• Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda (Simea), Tofiga Fepuleaʻi (Nalo), and Gerald Faitala Ramsey (Tautai Vasa) are all listed in the English credits (IMDb full credits).
• The English cast sheet runs past 15 credited voices, including returning favorites and minor roles (IMDb full credits).
• Disney’s official release date for the film is November 27, 2024 (Rotten Tomatoes).

Still unclear or unverified

• A child role called “Moanabe” appears in IMDb’s credits — likely a baby Moana — but Disney hasn’t officially acknowledged the part (IMDb full credits).
• Ata Johnson, Dwayne Johnson’s mother, is credited as a villager; it’s a listed credit, not a Disney announcement (IMDb full credits).
• In the Hawaiian-language dub, Maui reportedly has separate speaking and singing performers (Kaipu Baker and Elijah Kaʻikena Scanlan) — but the source is a fan-maintained wiki, not Disney (Disney International Dubbings, fan-maintained wiki).
• Pua the pig’s exact role in the sequel is still a fan question; the pig hasn’t appeared prominently in official promotional materials.
• A complete, Disney-published list of every minor cast member has not appeared; the fullest public list is IMDb’s community-curated sheet (IMDb full credits).
• Whether any post-credits scene adds further cast reveals is not documented in official materials.

The takeaway: the confirmed list is long and solid; the unclear list is short and mostly cosmetic. When the biggest unresolved question is which pig gets screen time, Disney’s casting strategy is essentially intact.

What the sources say

A few lines from the main sources tell the whole casting story at a glance.

Auliʻi Cravalho returns as Moana. Dwayne Johnson returns as Maui. Rachel House returns as Gramma Tala, who appears as a manta-ray spirit.

Disney Movies, official Moana 2 page

The English credits list Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Simea, Temuera Morrison as Chief Tui, Nicole Scherzinger as Sina, Alan Tudyk as Heihei, Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa, and Tofiga Fepuleaʻi as Nalo.

IMDb full credits, community-curated database

In the Hawaiian-language dubbing, Auliʻi Cravalho reprises Moana, while Maui’s role is reportedly split between a speaking performer and a singing performer.

Disney International Dubbings, fan-maintained wiki

The unifying theme: continuity is the story. Every source, official or fan-curated, agrees on the same core cast — the disagreements are all in the margins.

The takeaway: continuity is the whole story

Nearly every recognizable voice from the original Moana is back — Moana, Maui, Sina, Chief Tui, Gramma Tala, Heihei, even Tamatoa — and the new cast is packed into two lanes: the human crew (Loto, Kele, Moni) and the mythic forces (Matangi, Nalo, Simea). That split tells you the sequel’s bet: keep the family close, expand the mythology wide. For Disney, the consequence is already visible — Moana 2’s identity rests on these voices, and any future live-action adaptation will be judged against the exact same ensemble benchmark: protect the voices audiences already trust, or explain why it didn’t.

Related reading: The Princess and the Frog: Tiana, Sequel, and Disney Princess Status · Matilda the Musical Wellington 2026: Cast, Tickets & Reviews

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