"Moana 2" Director David Derrick, Jr. Heading to Warner Bros. Animation
How far will he go over there?
Walt Disney Animation Studios alum and director of Moana 2, David Derrick, Jr. is off to another studio down the street, where he will helm an original feature at Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.
What’s Happening:
- Known in recent memory for his work helming the smash-hit, Moana 2, David Derrick, Jr. is making the jump from Walt Disney Animation Studios to Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.
- At Warners, Derrick Jr. will reportedly be directing an original feature, set in the natural world.
- Prior to being picked to helm the Moana-based animated series that evolved into the billion-grossing sequel, Derrick Jr. worked on the original Moana, storyboarding sequences for “How Far I’ll Go" and “I Am Moana."
- Prior to this, the CalArts alum started his career at Dreamworks, working in story on Bee Movie, How to Train Your Dragon, Megamind, and Rise of the Guardians.
- Along with Moana at Disney, he served as a story artist on Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, Strange World, and even the “live-action" remake of The Lion King in 2019.
- The addition of Derrick Jr. to the Warner Bros. Animation unit is only the latest big addition of talent at the unit, which currently has films based on Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat and Oh, The Places You’ll Go in the works as well as original projects, and animated features based on DC characters.
- Moana 2, directed by Derrick, Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, currently stands as the biggest Walt Disney Animation Studios debut of all time, having opened on Thanksgiving weekend and taking in a 5-day domestic debut of $221 million, marking the third film of 2024 from Disney that broke $150 million in its opening weekend alone - alongside Pixar’s Inside Out 2 and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
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