Movies

Disney's 'Moana' Is Now A 'Hamilton' Reunion: Phillipa Soo Joins Voice Cast

Moana Footage
By Angie Han/

Scoring Hamilton tickets went from difficult to impossible last week, following news that star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda would take his last bow in July. But if you're bummed about missing out, maybe today's news will offer some small measure of consolation. A Hamilton mini-reunion is headed to big screens this fall, in the form of Disney Animation's Moana.

As previously reported, Manuel is writing original music for the Disney adventure. Now we've learned that his Hamilton co-star Phillipa Soo will be lending her voice to the project, which also features the talents Dwayne Johnson and newcomer Auli'i Cravalho.

Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana follows a teenager (Cravalho) in ancient Oceania who sets out on a daring adventure to save her people, joining forces with the demi-god Maui (Johnson) along the way. Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina worked with Miranda to pen original tunes. Entertainment Weekly reports Soo will voice a villager from Motunui, Moana's home island.

Clements and Musker wrote the screenplay for Moana with Jared Bush, Pamela Ribon, and Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi. Bush shared the good news on Twitter (below), confirming that Soo will indeed sing in the movie. He also dropped a coy hint about a "surprise."

Disney revealed the first bit of Moana footage at D23 last summer to a very warm reception; click here to read our report from the presentation. Moana hits theaters November 23, making it Disney Animation's second feature film release of the year following this spring's Zootopia.

While Soo has a few screen credits on her resume, including a recurring role on NBC's Smash and a rejected Dangerous Liaisons pilot, Moana is her first animated voiceover gig. Soo is currently up for a Tony Award for her work in Hamilton, in which she plays Alexander's wife Eliza. Sample her vocal talents with one of her signature numbers from the show, below:

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