Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said fans who come to theatres to watch Moana 2 should sing along to the songs if they wanted to.
The Red One star is reprising his role as the demigod Maui in Moana 2, alongside Auli’i Cravalho who voices Moana. Moana, which was released in 2016, followed the story of an adventurous teen who sets sail on a dangerous mission to save her people. Along her journey, she meets Maui who guides her on her quest.
At the UK premiere of Moana 2, Johnson encouraged singing in the theatre, because it’s the “fun part” of watching a musical.
“Especially if you love music, that’s the fun part,” Johnson told BBC News.
“Sing! You’ve paid your hard earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it. Sing.”
The recent debate over cinema theatre etiquette began raging shortly before Jon M Chu’s highly anticipated musical Wicked hit theatres. According to AMC, movie-goers aren’t allowed to sing along to the Wicked songs at any point during the film. In fact, much like talking, singing of any kind is prohibited inside the theatre at all times.
In a short Wicked-themed preshow advisory video, AMC says: “At AMC Theaters, silence is golden. No talking. No texting. No singing. No wailing. No Flirting. And absolutely no name-calling. Enjoy the magic of movies.”
Moana 2 sees the Polynesian teenager reunite with Maui to go on another ocean adventure after she receives an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors.
Johnson also talked about his experiences while working on the film, explaining how important he thinks it is to champion diverse cultures.
“[Moana 2] brought me closer to my own culture,” he told PA media.
“Every day is a learning lesson for your culture, regardless of how much you think you know, or how much it has been embedded in your DNA.”
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The original film made over $680m at the global box office and has been streamed for over 1 billion hours on Disney+.
Last year, Auli’i Cravalho, the 23-year-old actor who voiced the titular character of the 2016 film, was praised for her “respectful” decision to sit out of the film’s forthcoming live-action remake.
“When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career. In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role,” she shared in an Instagram video at the time.
“I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell.”
Moana 2 will be released in UK cinemas on 27 November.
