Disney has found a director for the Moana TV show.David G. Derrick Jr. was announced to helm the Disney+ series, which will act as a follow-up to the original feature. Derrick has worked as a storyboard artist on Disney films like Raya and the Last Dragon and the remake of The Lion King. He first joined the House of Mouse with Moana, which Disney said "deepened his connection with his family's Samoan roots." Derrick himself made a statement with the announcement, saying "Working on Moana was a gift, personally and professionally. The film Moana caught and shared the spirit of Polynesia with the world. I am honored to continue her story and to celebrate the rich and beautiful cultures of the Pacific Islands."RELATED: DC's Metal Men Film in the Works From Moana, Little Mermaid Animators

Released in 2016, Moana followed the story of its eponymous Disney Princess (Auli'i Carvalho). When an ancient curse reached the shores of her Polynesian island, Moana set out to recruit the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to break the curse and save her people. The film received positive reviews for its story, cast, music and representation of Pacific Island cultures. Moana was nominated for two Academy Awards -- Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature -- but lost to La La Land and its fellow Disney movie Zootopia, respectively.

A Moana series was first announced at the Disney Investors Day Conference in December 2020. The show will take place after the film and continue the musical story of Moana now that she is her tribe's chieftain and wayfinder. The show was initially set for a 2023 release, but this date was later pushed back to 2024.

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Also announced at the conference was Baymax!, a spin-off to 2014's Big Hero 6 focusing on the day-to-day activities of the well-meaning medical droid. The first trailer for the series dropped in November 2021 and it is slated to premiere in Summer of 2022. Additional projects that are spin-offs of prior films include Zootopia and Tiana, the latter being based on 2009's The Princess and the Frog.

In terms of original IP projects, Disney Animation is also developing the science-fiction series Iwájú in collaboration with the Pan-African entertainment company Kugali Media. Set in Lagos, Nigera, the show will tackle themes of "class, innocence and challenging the status quo." Kugali co-founder Hamid Ibrahim said of the project "Iwájú [which means 'the future' in the Yoruba language] represents a personal childhood dream of mine to tell my story and that of my people."

The Moana series makes its way onto Disney+ in 2024.

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Source: Twitter