What does Moana's new [SPOILER] mean for her future?
Kinda makes you ink...
Warning: This story contains spoilers about Moana 2.
In Polynesian culture, tattoos are incredibly meaningful, generally representing aspects of one's family, history, and cultural legend.
That's certainly true for Moana's demi-god, Maui (Dwayne Johnson), whose tattoos are animated renderings of his past (they even move!). But Maui isn't the only one with impressive ink anymore.
In Moana 2, Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) nearly dies attempting to reach the sunken island of Motufetu, swimming deep into the ocean to touch the land, thus breaking the evil god Nalo's curse. When Maui goes to save her, he sings a mournful chant, welcoming all of her ancestors, including Moana's grandmother, Tala (Rachel House). They breathe new life into Moana, and when she awakens, she has a new tattoo — the symbol of the mountain peaks and stars above Motufetu that she first found etched onto a piece of pottery, which set her journey in motion.
But what does this tattoo, which magically inks itself onto Moana's arm, mean?
The film itself is coy about the new body art's symbolism. "So, does this mean?..." Moana asks, seemingly inquiring as to whether she is now a demi-god like Maui. He replies, "That my tattoos are cooler than yours? Yes."
Reflecting on the moment with Entertainment Weekly, Johnson says he thinks "it's safe to assume...that she becomes a demi-god," adding, "I really appreciate how it was executed and how it was written."
Cravalho also hints at Moana's new status while speaking about her freshly minted title at the film's start: Tautai. "That means she's a master navigator," she tells EW. "I love that we have this Indigenous history on the big screen, but without spoiling too much, Moana's title changes a few times. Is she a princess? Is she a TauTai? Is she something more?"
Related: Is Moana a princess? Star Auli'i Cravalho has the definitive answer about the Disney heroine
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While Johnson and Cravalho are speaking from their characters' points of view, co-writer and co-director Dana Ledoux Miller confirms that Moana's tattoo means exactly what Moana thinks it means — that she has acquired some new status and/or power that is shared by gods and demi-gods. "Yes," Miller says of whether or not the tattoo makes Moana a demi-god. "But we don't know exactly what that means for her future yet."
Between this and the post-credits scene, we're already eager for more Moana.