Zombies (franchise)

Zombies
Original work	Zombies and Cheerleaders by David Light and Joseph Raso
Owner	Walt Disney Television
Years	2018–present
Films and television
Animated series	Zombies: The Re-animated Series
Television short(s)	Zombies: Addison's Moonstone Mystery (2020–present)
Television film(s)	Zombies (2018) Zombies 2 (2020) Zombies 3 (2022) Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires (2025)
Miscellaneous
Directed by	Paul Hoen
Produced by	Mary Pantelidis
Written by	David Light Joseph Raso
Music by	George S. Clinton Amit May Cohen (2 and 3)
Starring	Milo Manheim Meg Donnelly
Cinematography	Robert Drinkmann (1) Rudolf Blahacek (2) Christian Herrera (3)
Edited by	Lisa Jane Robison (1) Lisa Binkley (2 and 3)

The Zombies franchise consisted of three musical adventure-comedy films directed by Paul Hoen, two Disney Channel Original Movies and one film that premiered on Disney+ before airing on Disney Channel. Written by David Light and Joseph Raso, the series began with Zombies (2018) and ended with Zombies 3 (2022). The franchise follows Zed, a zombie, and Addison, a human cheerleader, as they fall in love and fight for acceptance in monsters.

The franchise stars Milo Manheim as Zed and Meg Donnelly as Addison. Zombies premiered on Disney Channel on February 16, 2018, Zombies 2 premiered on Disney Channel on February 14, 2020, and Zombies 3 premiered on Disney+ on July 15, 2022 before airing on Disney Channel on August 12, 2022. It was originally meant to be a television series titled Zombies and Cheerleaders, but it was never developed or have ever aired, and was instead remade as the film Zombies.^{[ citation needed ]}

Film series

Zombies (2018)

Main article: Zombies (2018 film)

Students from Zombietown transfer to Seabrook High, a school whose suburban town is filled with uniformity, traditions and pep rallies. When Zombie football player Zed and human cheerleader Addison fall in love, chaos ensues, and the two must lead their groups' to coexistence with each other.

In May 2017, Zombies was reported to have begun production. ^[1] Its trailer was released on January 5, 2018. ^[2] Zombies was released on February 16, 2018. The film was watched by 2.6 million viewers on its premiere night. ^{[3] [4]}

Zombies 2 (2020)

Main article: Zombies 2

Zed and Addison have continued to steer both their school and community toward unity. However, the arrival of the werewolves complicates their relationship.

In early 2019, a sequel to Zombies was in production, with the actors, director and writer returning. ^[5] Pearce Joza, Chandler Kinney, and Ariel Martin joined the cast with Kylee Russell, Trevor Tordjman, Carla Jeffery, James Godfrey, and Kingston Foster reprising their roles from the first film. ^[6] The film was released on February 14, 2020, watched by 2.5 million viewers ^[7] and received positive reviews.

Zombies 3 (2022)

Main article: Zombies 3

Seabrook's humans, zombies, and werewolves coexist. Being this is senior year at Seabrook's high school for Zed and Addison, the former is looking to become the first zombie admitted into higher education with a football scholarship, and the latter is in the final stages of preparing to open a new cheerleading pavilion and host a competition consisting of cheer teams from around the world. Meanwhile, aliens arrive at Seabrook, whose leaders A-Spen, A-Li, and A-Lan initially claiming they are interested in spectating the cheer competition Addison organized.

In late-March 2021, Disney Channel green-lit Zombies 3 with Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim returning to star. ^[8] Paul Hoen was also reported to be returning as director as well as David Light and Joseph Raso as writers. ^[9] Light, Raso and Suzanne Farwell will executive produce. ^{[10] [11]} On May 19, 2021, Matt Cornett, Kyra Tantao and Terry Hu joined the cast as A-Lan, A-Li and A-Spen. ^[12] Chandler Kinney, Pearce Joza, Ariel Martin, Trevor Tordjman, Carla Jeffery, Kylee Russell, James Godfrey and Kingston Foster were reported to be reprising their roles. Production began on May 31, 2021. ^[13] In May 2022, it was announced that RuPaul would be voicing the mothership. It was also announced that the film would premiere on July 15, 2022 on Disney+ as an original film, with an extended version premiering on Disney Channel on August 12. ^[14]

Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires

In February 2024, Disney Branded Television greenlit Zombies 4, with Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim reprising their roles and are also set to executive produce the film. Chandler Kinney and Kylee Russell were also set to return for the film. Additionally, Freya Skye and Malachi Barton join the cast as new characters, Nova and Victor, respectively. Paul Hoen returns to direct, with David Light, Joseph Raso, and Josh Cagan writing the film. Hoen, Light, Raso, Jane Fleming, and Mark Ordesky will also serve as executive producers. Mahita P. Simpson will co-executive produce the film. Production is set to begin in March 2024 in New Zealand. ^[15] In March 2024, Swayam Bhatia, Julian Lerner, Mekonnen Knife, Lisa Chappell, and Jonno Roberts joined the cast. ^[16]

Television series

Zombies: Addison's Moonstone Mystery / Zombies: Addison's Monster Mystery

On October 16, 2020, Zombies: Addison's Moonstone Mystery, a series of animated shorts, began airing on Disney Channel. The story revolves around Addison (Meg Donnelly) who journeys through a mysterious dreamscape to find her true identity. ^[17] The series was renewed for a second season with its new title, Addison’s Monster Mystery, which premiered on October 1, 2021.

Zombies: The Re-animated Series

In June 2022, during the Annecy Film Festival, it was reported that an animated series, titled Zombies: The Re-animated Series, is in being developed by Disney Television Animation for Disney+ and Disney Channel. Descendants: Wicked World creator and director Aliki Theofilopoulos and Amphibia story editor Jack Ferriolo will serve as creators and showrunners. The duo will also executive-produce the series alongside Gary Marsh and the films' writers Joseph Russo and David Light. ^{[18] [19]} Zombies: The Re-animated Series Shorts premiered on July 21, 2023 on Disney Channel, ^[20] with the full series set to premiere in summer 2024. ^[15]

Crew

Year	Film	Director	Producer	Writers	Composer(s)	Cinematographers	Editor
2018	Zombies	Paul Hoen	Mary Pantelidis	David Light and Joseph Raso	George S. Clinton	Robert Drinkmann	Lisa Jane Robinson
2020	Zombies 2				George S. Clinton and Amit May Cohen	Rudolf Blahacek	Lisa Binkley
2022	Zombies 3					Christian Herrera

Cast

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the series.

• An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
•  ^V indicates a voice-only role.

Character	Appearances
	Zombies	Zombies 2	Zombies 3	Addison's Moonstone Mystery
Zed Necrodopolis	Milo Manheim
Addison Rosalyn Wells	Meg Donnelly
Bucky Buchanan	Trevor Tordjman
Eliza Zambi	Kylee Russell
Bree	Carla Jeffery
Zoey Necrodopolis	Kingston Foster
Bonzo	James Godfrey
Ms. Lee	Naomi Snieckus
Coach	Jonathan Langdon
Dale Wells	Paul Hopkins
Missy Wells	Marie Wards
Zevon Necrodopolis	Tony Nappo
Lacey	Emilia McCarthy
Stacey	Jasmine Renee Thomas
Tracey	Mickeey Nguyen
Willa Lykensen		Chandler Kinney
Wyatt Lykensen		Pearce Joza
Wynter Barkowitz		Ariel Martin
Kevin "Jacey"		Noah Zulfikar
A-Lan			Matt Cornett
A-Li			Kyra Tantao
A-Spen			Terry Hu
The Mothership			RuPaul V
Angie			Sheila McCarthy

Reception

Reception for the films have generally been positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, Zombies 2 has an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 7.4/10, ^[21] while Zombies 3 has an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 7.8/10. ^[22]

References

1. Evans, Greg (May 11, 2017). "Production Begins On Disney Channel's 'Zombies' For 2018 Premiere". Deadline. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
2. Lenker, Maureen Lee (January 5, 2018). "Disney Channel original movie 'Zombies' to unite cheerleaders and zombies in a new musical". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved March 28, 2021.
3. "Ratings - Disney Channel's Original Movie "Zombies" Reaches 10.3 Million Viewers Over the Holiday Weekend". The Futon Critic (Press release). February 20, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2021– via Disney Channel Press Release.
4. Metcalf, Mitch (February 16, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.16.2018". Showbuzz Daily . Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
5. Haring, Bruce (February 11, 2019). "Disney's Zombies 2 Sequel Heads into Production with Returning Stars, Director, Writers". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 28, 2019.
6. "Zombies 2 Show Bios". Walt Disney Television Press (Press release). Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
7. "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.14.2020". Showbuzz Daily . February 14, 2020. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
8. Johnson, Zach (March 22, 2021). "Production Begins This Spring on Disney Channel's ZOMBIES 3". D23 . Retrieved March 28, 2021.
9. Pedersen, Erik (March 22, 2021). "'Zombies 3': Disney Channel Digs Up Second Sequel; Meg Donnelly & Milo Manheim Return As Franchise Goes Intergalactic". Deadline. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
10. Nordyke, Kimberly (March 22, 2021). "'Zombies 3' Greenlighted at Disney Channel". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 28, 2021.
11. Sandwell, Ian (March 23, 2021). "Zombies 3: Everything you need to know". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
12. "Breaking News — Matt Cornett, Kyra Tantao and Terry Hu Land Out-of-This-World Roles in "Zombies 3," The Third Installment of Disney Channel's Highly Popular Franchise". The Futon Critic (Press release). May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021– via Disney Channel press release.
13. Petski, Denise (May 19, 2021). "'Zombies 3': Matt Cornett, Kyra Tantao, Terry Hu Join Disney Channel Movie". Deadline. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
14. Nolfi, Joey (May 20, 2022). "RuPaul joins Disney's Zombies 3 movie as the mother of all alien spaceships". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
15. Campione, Katie (February 10, 2024). "Zombies 4: Disney Channel Franchise Expands With Another Sequel Film & New Animated Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
16. Cordero, Rosy (March 26, 2024). "Disney's Zombies 4 Rounds Out Cast As Production Begins In New Zealand". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
17. Damore, Meagan (October 2, 2020). "Disney's Zombies Animated Shorts Land a Spooky Release Date (Exclusive)". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved March 28, 2021.
18. Pedersen, Lise (June 15, 2022). "Disney Reveals Animated Series Slate at Annecy Festival (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
19. @alikigreeky (June 15, 2022). "Some news" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
20. Disney Channel [@DisneyChannel] (June 13, 2023). "Get ready! Here's your first look at the Seabrook crew in #ZOMBIESReanimated. ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series Shorts premieres on July 21 on @DisneyChannel, and keep your eyes peeled for the full series, which will be here before you know it!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 21, 2024– via Twitter.
21. "Zombies 2 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved March 28, 2021.
22. "Zombies 3 (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved July 18, 2022.