Some People Think Moana Will Be Trans in 'Moana 2,' but She Definitely Won't Be

Disney managed to unveil a major surprise on Feb. 7 with the announcement that Moana 2 would be hitting theaters later this year. The sequel comes almost a decade after the first movie hit theaters, and following the news of its release, many people had questions about what the movie would look like.

Most people just wanted to know who would be in the cast and what the movie would be about, but there were some who had convinced themselves that Moana might be trans in this new movie. Here's what we know about this theory, and whether there's anything to suggest it might be true.

Based on the first images and trailer that have been released for this sequel, Moana looks very much the same as she did in the film's first installment. There's nothing to indicate that she will be trans.

The rumor that she would be trans seems to have started after Mouse Trap Site, a satirical social media service, suggested that the character would become Disney's first trans Disney princess.

“BREAKING: Moana is The First Transgender Princess!" the post said, accompanied by an image of what a male version of Moana might look like. The post was meant as satire (although the joke is not totally clear) and it came several months before Disney even officially announced that a Moana sequel was happening. Even so, that didn't stop many primarily conservative voices from railing against the news, which, again, was not real.

"I am boycotting Disney," one person wrote. "I can't anymore."

If you were to do even a little digging, you would see that Mouse Trap News labels itself as "100% fake" and claims to be something like The Onion, but just for Disney news.

“From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real or accurate, but it is fun," their about page explains.

Even though the news is not real, the video announcing it has nonetheless racked up millions of views, and those flooding the comments seem to be primarily conservative voices who believe the news to be real. Hopefully, once the movie is released, they will realize that the rumors that she would be trans were incorrect.

Of course, there's an entirely separate conversation to have around whether there should be any outrage over a trans Disney princess. Thus far, though, Disney hasn't introduced many people who are anywhere on the queer spectrum to its canon.

Moana is not going to be a trans character, but that doesn't mean Disney shouldn't choose to make other story decisions that might indicate she is somewhere on the queer spectrum. Only time will tell whether that ultimately happens, though. For now, though, everyone's just getting mad about something that is almost definitely not true.