Moana 2 Star Dwayne Johnson Shares the Empowering Message Film Sends to Young Girls

Dwayne Johnson is excited to see how far Moana 2 can go. 

And the Black Adam star knows the upcoming sequel to the 2016 animated Disney film will go far, especially because it speaks so directly to young women and girls.

"I think that the main thing about Moana is this idea of female empowerment," Dwayne told E! News at the New York City premiere of his movie Red One Nov. 11, "and this idea that we always say, ‘What's it like being on the reef and looking beyond the reef?'"

And the former WWE wrestler believes the message is universal, "even if you're not part of Polynesian culture."

"It's this idea that what people like to do—especially to young girls—is kind of constrain them," he continued, "and pretzel them into, ‘You can only be so much.' But in Moana 2, you can actually be anything you want." (For more from Dwayne, tune into E! News tonight, Nov. 12, at 11 p.m.) 

Plus the chance to voice the character of Maui again was one the 52-year-old couldn't pass up. After all, he loves how Maui "does his best to empower Moana to look beyond the reef."

He added of the film's message, "Whatever it is you want to do, you can do it." 

Indeed, Dwayne—who is dad to daughters Jasmine, 8, and Tiana, 6, with wife Lauren Hashian, daughter Simone, 23, with ex Dany Garcia—has already gotten a chance to see Moana 2, which hits theaters Nov. 27, so he knows the message shines through and is "just so happy with" how the film turned out.

He previously teased just how hard at work the cast and crew worked on the sequel, telling E! News, "We went for it." As for their mentality, he noted how when it comes to making a sequel to a film as "beloved" as the first one, the only option was to double down on what the new movie could be and "really go for it."

The Rock has also been working on his singing skills, not just for Moana 2, but also for the live-action version of the Moana, where he'll play Maui once more. 

Sometimes he even gets a chance to practice in front of his fans, noting the "number one" request he often receives from them is to sing a few bars from Maui's number "You're Welcome."

"I'm going to sing in keys that don't exist," he joked, "but I think we got a shot."

—Reporting by Emily Curl

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