Illinois Native Writing Music for ‘Surprise’ Sequel to Beloved Disney Flick

I had heard Disney was working on a live Moana but didn't know a single solitary thing about an actual animated Moana sequel.

I wasn't the only one as the news was broke yesterday by Disney CEO Bob Iger.

The cast of the first Moana is "expected" to return for the sequel according to a story from from The Hollywood Reporter.

Beyond that there was something else that caught my eye:

Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina are writing the music.

The 22-year-old Emily Bear, born and raised in Rockford, has been playing music since childhood.

Bear appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2008 and most recently toured with Beyonce.

The team of Abigail Barlow and Bear worked on the upcoming Fred & Ginger musical biopic based on the lives of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to "recreate the couple's famous musical moments." according to Broadway World.

The Moana sequel is due out much sooner than anyone expected too as it looks like the project has been worked on in secret because the movie will come out on November 27.