Rita Ora will also be back as the Queen of Hearts in the fifth film, debuting next year.
Brandy as Cinderella in “Descendants: The Rise of Red” Disney/Edward Herrera
Brandy and Rita Ora are returning as Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, Disney announced on Tuesday (May 6). The fifth installment of the hit Disney Channel Original Movie series is set for release in 2026 on Disney Channel and Disney+.
The two music stars were also featured in 2024’s Descendants: The Rise of Red, in which Brandy returned to the role of Cinderella for the first time since she starred alongside Whitney Houston in the 1997 TV movie Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Ora originated the Queen of Hearts role in The Rise of Red.
Also returning are Paolo Montalban as King Charming — who played Brandy’s Prince Charming in the 1997 film too — and Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother, making her the only actor to appear in all five Descendants films.
Kylie Cantrall will once again play the Queen of Hearts’ daughter Red and Malia Baker will reprise her role as Cinderella’s daughter Chloe.
Filling out the Wicked Wonderland cast are: Liamani Segura as Red’s sister Pink; Brendon Tremblay as Maddox Hatter’s son Max; Alexandro Byrd as Luisa Madrigal’s son Luis; Kiara Romero as Captain Hook’s daughter Hazel Hook; Joel Oulette as Robin Hood’s son Robbie; Zavien Garret as Dr. Facilier’s son Felix; Ryan McEwen and Dayton Paradis as the Smee Twins, Squirmy and Squeaky; and Leonardo Nam as the Mad Hatter’s son Maddox.
Kimmy Gatewood will direct Wicked Wonderland — her first time helming a Descendants film — with a script from Tamara Chestna and The Rise of Red writers Dan Frey and Ru Sommer. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Descendants film, which debuted on Disney Channel in July 2015.
All four Descendants albums reached No. 1 on both Billboard‘s Soundtracks chart and the Kid Albums chart, and reached the all-genre Billboard 200. The first three titles all reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200, with the first release debuting at No. 1. The four projects have collectively earned 3.9 million equivalent album units in the United States, through May 1, according to Luminate.
See Cantrall and Baker reveal the title of the fifth movie in the series below: