Disney has big plans for the DESCENDANTS franchise.
The entertainment giant started work on HIDDEN HEROES: A DESCENDANTS STORY this week and added new sidekicks from characters from ALADDIN, EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, SLEEPING BEAUTY and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Deadline reported.
The logline reads, “Hidden in the center of each fairy tale is a portal to a secret training facility where the descendants of legendary sidekicks are challenged to join the elite ranks of partners to heroes. When a villainous duo comes to Sidekick Academy, a group of fresh recruits must band together — without heroes, without parents — using only their new skills to save the fairytale realm before it’s too late.”
Jude Weng will direct the live-action feature. Tamara Chestna, Eydie Faye and Emma Fletcher write. Mark Ordesky and Jane Fleming will executive produce with Chestna and Gary Marsh. Choreography will be by Louise Hradsky and Jeffrey Mortensesn. Dior Goodjohn, Momona Tamada and Jacob Rodriguez are a few of the new actors.
“One of the things that has always made DESCENDANTS so special is the way it invites audiences to experience familiar Disney stories through an entirely new perspective,” Ayo Davis, president, Disney Kids & Family, said. “With HIDDEN HEROES, we’re finally putting the sidekicks center stage, because they’ve always been an essential part of Disney’s greatest adventures. It’s a fun, surprising new chapter that expands the DESCENDANTS universe with all the music, dance and heart fans love and expect from the franchise.”
Related: DESCENDANTS: THE RISE OF RED
The most recent DESCENDANTS movie, DESCENDANTS: WICKED WONDERLAND, just came out on July 16.
In it, Red, daughter of the Queen of Hearts, and Chloe, daughter of Cinderella, are launched into another adventure after Maddox the Mad Hatter demands his time-changing pocket watch back.
Part of Movieguide®’s review says the movie has “a moral worldview mixed with Pagan and Occult elements due to the use of magic, portals, time travel, and magic lands. Themes of friendship, teamwork, forging one’s own identity, and good vs evil… his coming-of-age tale highlights that actions define a person’s character, not the labels and titles they are given.”
The movie was the No. 1 movie on Disney+ globally (based on views July 17-27). It boosted a 400% increase in hours streamed to the other four DESCENDANTS movies during the week of July 20, Disney+ reported.
HIDDEN HEROES: A DESCENDANTS STORY doesn’t have a stated release slot yet but will likely come out on Disney Channel and Disney+ in 2028 or sometime late next year at the very earliest.
Read Next: DECENDANTS: WICKED WONDERLAND
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