Descendants: The Rise of Red
Descendants: The Rise of Red is an upcoming musical fantasy film directed by Jennifer Phang from a screenplay by Dan Frey and Russell Sommer. Produced by Disney Channel, the film will be the fourth in the Descendants franchise, being a spin-off of the previous three films.
| Descendants: The Rise of Red | |
|---|---|
| Written by |
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| Directed by | Jennifer Phang |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Production company | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Disney+ |
Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker star in the roles of Red (daughter of Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland) and Chloe Charming (daughter of Cinderella and Prince Charming from Cinderella), respectively. China Anne McClain and Melanie Paxson reprise their roles of Uma and Fairy Godmother, respectively, from previous Descendants films. Cinderella and King Charming are played by Brandy and Paolo Montalban, who previously played versions of the characters in the 1997 television adaptation of Cinderella.
Descendants: The Rise of Red is set to be released on Disney+.
Synopsis edit
Red, daughter of the Queen of Hearts, and Chloe, daughter of Cinderella and King Charming, team-up to travel in time with the White Rabbit's pocketwatch and prevent a catastrophic coup on Auradon.[1]
Cast edit
- Kylie Cantrall as Red, the daughter of Queen of Hearts
- Malia Baker as Chloe Charming, the daughter of Cinderella and Prince Charming
- China Anne McClain as Uma, the daughter of Ursula
- Dara Reneé as Ulyana, the sister of Ursula and aunt of Uma
- Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts, Red's mother
- Ruby Rose Turner as Bridget, the young Queen of Hearts
- Brandy Norwood as Cinderella, Chloe's mother
- Morgan Dudley as Ella, the young Cinderella
- Paolo Montalban as King Charming, Chloe's father
- Tristan Padil as teen Prince Charming
- Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother
- Grace Narducci as Fay, teenage Fairy Godmother
- Levin Valayil as Aladdin
- Kabir Bery as teen Aladdin
- Shazia Pascal as Jasmine
- Aiza Azaar as teen Jasmine
- Jeremy Swift as Principal Merlin
- Leonardo Nam as Maddox, the son of the Mad Hatter and chief inventor for the Queen of Hearts[2]
- Alex Boniello as Jack of Diamonds, captain of the Queen of Hearts' Red Army[3]
- Sam Morelos as Zellie, the daughter of Rapunzel
- Peder Lindell as Morgie, son of Morgana le Fay
- Mars as young Maleficent
- Joshua Colley as teen Hook
- Anthony Pyatt as teen Hades
Production edit
On August 18, 2021, following the release of the animated special Descendants: The Royal Wedding, Lauren Kisilevsky, Disney Branded Television's Senior Vice President of Original Movies, responded to questions regarding the special's cliffhanger by saying that "[t]he tease is a tease", and was added due to the Descendants films ending with hints at additional stories, and also said that "Disney Channel will see where [they] get with the franchise".[4]
On September 21, 2021, a fourth Descendants film was confirmed to be in development as part of an overall deal between Disney and former Disney Branded Television president Gary Marsh's production company.[5] By May 2022, the film was greenlight by Disney+ as a spin-off under the working title of The Pocketwatch. Jennifer Phang was hired as director and co-executive producer, with Dan Frey and Russell Sommer writing the screenplay and Marsh executive-producing.[1]
On March 21, 2023, the official title for the film was announced as Descendants: The Rise of Red.[6]
Filming edit
Filming for Descendants: The Rise of Red began in Fall 2022 under its working title The Pocketwatch.[1] Mark Hofeling will return from the original trilogy as production designer.[1] Phang said she wants the choreography during action sequences to still be able to tell an emotional story. For Wonderland's design, Phang used Alice in Wonderland (1951) as a reference while also drawing inspiration from her previous filmmaking experience.[7] Filming took place in Atlanta beginning at the end of January 2023 with plans to run through mid-March.[8][2]
Casting edit
The featured cast announced at the 2022 D23 Expo included China Anne McClain, who is returning to portray Uma, with Kylie Cantrall (as Red) and Dara Reneé (as Ulyana) joining the cast of the film.[9] In November 2022, casting announcement revealed that Brandy Norwood was returning as Cinderella after playing the role in the 1997 film Cinderella and Melanie Paxson returned as the franchise Fairy Godmother. New cast members to the franchise were Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts as well as Malia Baker, Ruby Rose Turner, Morgan Dudley, and Joshua Colley.[10] After filming had begun, Jeremy Swift and Leonardo Nam were announced as cast additions in February 2023.[2] In March 2023, was announced that Paolo Montalban was cast as King Charming, who like Norwood, played a version of the character in the 1997 film Cinderella.[11]
Visual effects edit
According to Phang, visual effects will be used to "enhance" the locations featured in the film.[7]
Music edit
Descendants: The Rise of Red is set to feature both 7 original songs and songs from animated Disney films.[1]
Release edit
Descendants: The Rise of Red is set to be released on Disney+, marking the first time a Descendants film is not released on Disney Channel.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f Petski, Denise (10 May 2022). "'Descendants' Sequel 'The Pocketwatch' Movie Greenlighted By Disney+; Jennifer Phang To Direct". Deadline. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ a b c Petski, Denise (February 2, 2023). "Descendants Sequel The Pocketwatch Disney+ Movie Adds Jeremy Swift & Leonardo Nam To Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ Lynette, Rice (March 24, 2023). "'Descendants: The Rise of Red' At Disney+ Casts Alex Boniello As Jack Of Diamonds". Deadline.
- ^ ‘Descendants’: Disney Channel SVP Addresses ‘Royal Wedding’ Cliffhanger
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 21, 2021). "Gary Marsh Exiting As Head Of Disney Branded TV To Launch Disney-Backed Company With 'Peter Pan' & 'Witch Mountain' Offshoots, More 'Descendants'". Deadline.
- ^ ""Descendants 4" Gets an Official Title "Descendants: The Rise of Red"". Laughing Place. March 22, 2023.
- ^ a b "Jennifer Phang Interview: The Flight Attendant & Disney's The Pocketwatch". ScreenRant. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ Rajput, Priyanca (January 4, 2023). "Disney's Descendants 4: The Pocketwatch to film in Atlanta, Georgia". KFTV.com.
- ^ "Disney Branded Television Presents Upcoming Slate of Films and Series at D23 Expo 2022" (Press release). Disney Branded Television. September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ Petski, Denise (November 21, 2022). "Brandy & Rita Ora Among 7 Cast In Descendants Sequel The Pocketwatch At Disney+". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ Swift, Andy (March 22, 2023). "Descendants: The Rise of Red Adds Paolo Montalban, Staging Cinderella Reunion With Brandy Norwood". TVLine.