Disney Greenlights “ZOMBIES 5”
Disney has announced that it has greenlit a fifth instalment in the hit Disney Channel Original Movie “ZOMBIES” franchise, which will be coming to the Disney Channel and Disney+.
The new movie will see Malachi Barton and Freya Skye return to their breakout roles as Victor and Nova. Franchise stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly return to executive produce, while Trevor Tordjman returns as Bucky, the beloved cheer captain and cousin of Addison from the original trilogy. The film begins production this spring in New Zealand. Disney will announce the official title of the movie at a later date.
Following the events of “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires,” the newfound peace between the Daywalkers and Vampires is put to the test when a band of fierce mermaids arrives in Rayburn, making waves and casting a persuasive siren song to lure in new allies. Nova and Victor must unite their groups once more to discover what the mermaids are really after in order to protect the fragile harmony they worked so hard to build.
The returning cast includes Malachi Barton as Victor, Freya Skye as Nova, Swayam Bhatia as Vera, Julian Lerner as Ray, and Mekonnen Knife as Vargas from “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires.” New to the franchise are a trio of mysterious mermaids: Diaana Babnicova as cool-girl Pearl, Taylor Oliver as bad-boy Fin, and Olive Mortimer as tech-wiz Sandy. Emily Costtrici joins the cast as zombie Izzy, Zed’s zombie cousin and new transfer student.
DGA Award-winner Paul Hoen, director and executive producer of the entire “ZOMBIES” franchise, will return for this latest instalment. Also returning are executive producers Jane Fleming, Mark Ordesky, Joseph Raso and David Light and producer Skot Bright, alongside Manheim and Donnelly. The movie features next-level dance sequences, choreographed by Dondraico Johnson, and an original score composed by Tom Howe. Joining the creative team are writers Chris Hazzard, Michael Fontana and Eydie Faye.
“‘ZOMBIES’ has become a defining franchise for the current generation. With each movie, we intentionally push the story somewhere new. Introducing mermaids in ‘ZOMBIES 5’ opens up a completely different dynamic, while staying true to the music, characters and themes of unity and acceptance that are at the heart of these films.”
The previous four films, along with the animated series and short-form series “Locker Diaries,” are all available to stream now on Disney+.
Roger’s Take: This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as the franchise continues to grow and it also looks like Disney has successfully moved the franchise onto new younger actors, which means a whole new generation can keep this franchise moving forward.
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