'Descendants: The Rise Of Red' Stocks Up On Trailers, Premiere Dates, And Brandy
The film premieres first on Disney+ on July 12, premiering four weeks later on Disney Channel
The original Villains’ Kids might have moved on, well most of them, but there's still magic in the air to keep going. Disney has set a Disney+-first July 12 premiere for Descendants: The Rise of Red, the fourth installment of the DCOM franchise that tripled up on playing with the heroes and villains of the Disney animated canon and their kids. Unlike with Zombies 3’s “Lost Song Edition”, nothing will be held back for its August 9 Disney Channel premiere.
While the film does bring back China Anne McClain as Uma and Melanie Paxson as the Fairy Godmother from the first trilogy, The Rise of Red happens to bring back stars of Disney Channel sitcoms past (though that’s not hard with the dwindling roster). Kylie Cantrall of Gabby Duran and the Unsittables stars as Red, the rebellious daughter of the Queen of Hearts (played by Rita Ora), as her tyrannical mother enacts a coup on Auradon. Red must join forces with Chloe, played by Malia Baker, considered her polar opposite and the daughter of the Cinderella played by Brandy in the 1997 The Wonderful World of Disney TV movie, and time travel travel with the White Rabbit’s pocket watch back to prevent the traumatic event that began the Queen’s path to villainy. Not only is Brandy reprising her role, but so is her King Charming, Paolo Montalban.
Brandy has said that she "immediately said yes" when offered the chance to return. “I loved working with Paolo when I was younger, and working with him again has been amazing," she said of the royal reunion. "I was so excited to put on the dress, to put on the crown, to put on the blue hair. It was so amazing to do that and to get that feeling of, 'Wow, this is the '90s all over again.'" Of how the character has grown and changed after all this time, she remarked "They just are more in love, and they talk about their love with their daughter and whoever wants to listen. They've been in love for so long and they still waltz, they still sing together. They still have that magic."
The film also stars High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’s Dara Reneé as Ursula’s sister Uliana, Joshua Colley as young Captain Hook, Peder Lindell as Morgie, Jeremy Swift as Principal Merlin, and Leonardo Nam as Maddox Hatter. The trip to the past reveals several first names for titled characters, where Coop & Cami Ask the World’s Ruby Rose Turner plays Bridget, the young Queen of Hearts, Grace Narducci plays the Fairy Godmother Fay when she was young, while Morgan Dudley plays young Cinderella at a point before the “Cinderella” nickname stuck and still goes by Ella.
When the teaser released in April, Cantrall and Baker gushed about contributing a new story to the franchise they are such big fans of, with Cantrall saying “I’m constantly thinking back to my nine-year-old self who was standing in front of the TV hitting the rewind button a hundred times, breaking a sweat trying to learn the 'Rotten to the Core' choreography from the first Descendants film.” She continued "I seriously wanted nothing more than to be a VK. Descendants had such an impact on me as a kid and that’s probably what makes me the most excited about being a part of this next story. Now Red's getting the chance to inspire the next generation of VK's."
"Having the opportunity to become a part of it made my 10-year-old self soar," Baker says. "I feel so honored to have a part in adding to these stories, knowing how much of an impact they made on me in my childhood. It's a blessing being able to introduce new generations to these iconic characters!"
Jennifer Phang directs and is co-executive producer, from a script written by Dan Frey and Russell Sommer. Mark Hofeling returns as production designer. Suzanne Todd and Gary Marsh are executive producers and Alexis Frank Koczara and Christine Smith Shevchenko are the casting directors.
