Moana 2songwriter Emily Bear reveals how one big song would have fit into the sequel before it was cut. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the Disney animated sequel, which started life as a Disney+ TV series, hit theaters last November, continuing the stories of the titular protagonist, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho, and Maui (Dwayne Johnson). TheMoana 2storyfollows the pair as they embark on another seafaring adventure into dangerous, long-lost waters in Oceania, with plenty of songs accompanying their journey.
In a recent interview withScreenRant’s Owen Danoff on the ASCAP Screen Music Awards red carpet, Bear reveals that there’s one particularly powerful song that didn’t make it intoMoana 2. According to the songwriter,the song, which had a working title of “Two Pieces,” would have been the movie’s primary balladmusical number:
There’s one especially that I’m heartbroken about called “Two Pieces”. It was actually the main ballad where “Beyond”, which is our big ballad song, is in the movie. [“Beyond”] was at the end of the movie and our old song, “Two Pieces”–[well,] we didn’t even agree on a title–was the beginning of the movie. It was in the production for two and a half years and then it got taken out pretty late.
Bear goes on to explain that the movie’s shift from streaming to the big screen ended up necessitating some big story changes, and “Two Pieces” ultimately didn’t fit within this new vision:
Yeah. It was in, but then the story evolved so much, as it does in animation, [and] there was a certain point after one of the screenings where we just all looked at each other and were like, “This doesn’t make sense anymore.” The reason why she was going kind of changed, and so the big “I Want” song didn’t really [fit.] We knew what her decision was going to be, and the song was about her being in the middle of those two decisions.
What This Means For Moana 2
The Sequel’s Change From TV Show To Movie Explained
Moanawas a respectable hit back in 2016, but it was on Disney+ that the film really took off. In fact,Moanastill stands as the most-streamed movie on the platform. It was announced in late 2020 that the world of the franchise would continue with a streaming TV show, but then,in early 2024, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that this series was in the process of being transformed into a feature filmfor theaters. This shift led to major story changes, withcomposer Mark Mancina previously tellingScreenRant:“They rewrote the entire thing.”
As Bear explains, this shift in story meant a change in the songs.“Two Pieces” would have helped to illuminate Moana’s struggle to make a decision about her adventure, but the new story makes her more resolved.Moana 2has nine full songs, but other musical sequences are interspersed throughout the runtime. “Beyond” plays nearer the beginning of Moana’s journey, but it was also a key song used in promotion of the film. There is a separate end-credits version of “Beyond” that was actually released to the public several weeks before the film’s release.
The songs from the first film can next be heard in the upcominglive-actionMoanaremake, which features Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui.
Our Take On Moana 2’s Cut Song
Could It Ever See The Light Of Day?
The reception toMoana 2and its songs was generally very positive from audiences. The film has an 86% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $1.059 billion at the box office, after all. Still, it would be interesting to experience “Two Pieces” to better understand what Moana’s story may have looked like before it changed from a series to a movie.
Since “Two Pieces” doesn’t fit with the story the sequel was ultimately telling, it’s not clear if it will ever be released to the public. There’s beenno confirmation about aMoana 3just yet, but,if it makes sense in terms of story and character, maybe the song could find a new home in the potential threequel. Until then, however, it’s clear that audiences are enjoying the version ofMoana 2that ended up making it on screen.
