No, "Niu Lai 2: Setting Sail" Hasn't Been Confirmed.

On the night of 13 September 2026, a Weibo account called "感恩的牛来" ("Grateful Niu Lai") posted an announcement for a new film: 《牛来2：起航》, "Niu Lai 2: Setting Sail" — described as a 3D-animated project, with a slogan-style caption about a "new journey, officially setting sail," and a claimed 2027 release. Chinese entertainment outlets picked it up fast, several running it as if it were the studio's own announcement, right alongside real quotes from director Wang Jing about Niu Lai's box-office turnaround.

There was no blue verification badge on the account, and nothing tying it to Dalian Jingyuan Culture Film and Television Media, the company behind the original film, or to director Xin Yumeng directly.

Weibo itself wouldn't vouch for it

On 14 September, Weibo's own customer-service account responded to questions about the post by saying the account had not submitted the verification materials needed to confirm it represented the party it claimed to. That is Weibo declining to stand behind the account's identity — not an outright statement that it was fake, but a clear "we can't confirm this is who it says it is."

Two days later, on 16 September, the account deleted the post entirely. No replacement statement, correction, or explanation has appeared since, from that account or from anyone confirmed to speak for the film.

Don't confuse this with 羊高 (Yang Gao) — the sequel that is real

This matters because Niu Lai already has a confirmed follow-up: 羊高 (Yang Gao), announced on 16 August 2026 the same day the production team called an end to the film's initial theatrical push. That announcement came with the same mother-and-son team, Xin Yumeng and Sun Lifang, continuing in the same no-budget, no-outside-team style — consistent with everything reported about how Niu Lai itself was made. See our movie page for the sourcing on that one.

"Niu Lai 2: Setting Sail" is a different, unconfirmed claim, from a different and unverified account, describing a different kind of production (3D animation, a bigger-sounding "setting sail" launch) than anything the actual creators have described. Two sequel names circulating for one film is exactly the kind of situation that produces confident-sounding wrong answers — treat any claim about "Niu Lai 2" that isn't traceable to Xin Yumeng, Sun Lifang or Dalian Jingyuan directly as unverified until it is.