Disney Has Officially Greenlit ‘ZOMBIES 5’ Without Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly
Disney has greenlit a fifth installment in its beloved ZOMBIES franchise, less than a year after ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires debuted on Disney+ and Disney Channel.
ZOMBIES 5 will shift the focus of the franchise away from Milo Manheim’s Zed and Meg Donnelly’s Addison and toward Malachi Barton and Freya Skye, who will reprise their roles as Victor and Nova from ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires.
Zombies 4. Photo: Disney
“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,” the film’s synopsis reads.
Photo: Disney
“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.”
Returning Stars and New Faces
In addition to Barton and Skye, ZOMBIES 5 will see Swayam Bhatia return as Vera, Julian Lerner reprise his role as Ray, and Mekonnen Knife portray Vargas again. Additionally, Trevor Tordjman will reprise his role as Bucky from the original ZOMBIES trilogy.
Photo: Variety
Joining the cast 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. Also new to the franchise is Emily Costritici, who will portray Uzzy, Zed’s zombie cousin and a new transfer student.
“ZOMBIES has become a defining franchise for the current generation,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “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.”
Manheim and Donnelly Will Serve as Executive Producers
While Manheim and Donnelly will not appear in ZOMBIES 5, they will remain a part of the franchise as executive producers of the film.
Photo: Zombies
The rest of the crew includes director Paul Hoen, executive producers Jane Fleming, Mark Ordesky, Joseph Raso, and David Light, and producer Skot Bright. Dondraico Johnson will choreograph ZOMBIES 5, while Tom Howe will compose the film’s score.
At this time, Disney has not revealed an official title or premiere date for ZOMBIES 5. Production, however, will begin this spring in New Zealand.
Photo: MickeyBlog
