‘Zombies 5’ is on Disney+, Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly are not returning
A fifth ‘Zombies’ movie has been greenlit on Disney Channel and Disney+, but franchise stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly will not be returning to their roles as Zed and Addison.
“Zombies 5” will instead be led by Malachi Barton and Freya Skye, who will reprise their roles as Victor and Nova from “Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires.” Both Manheim and Donnelly will remain on board the franchise as executive producers.
Additionally, Trevor Tordjman returns as Bucky, while the other returning cast includes Swayam Bhatia as Vera, Julian Lerner as Ray and Mekonnen Knife as Vargas. New additions include a trio of mermaids, played by Diaana Babnicova as Pearl, Taylor Oliver as Finn and Olive Mortimer as Sandy. Emily Costtrici joins the cast as zombie Izzy, described as “Zed’s zombie cousin and new transfer student.”
Production will start this spring in New Zealand.
“’Zombies’ has become a defining franchise for today’s generation,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “With each film, we intentionally push the story to a new place. The introduction of 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.”
The official logline for “Zombies 5” states: “The newfound peace between the Daywalkers and Vampires is tested when a band of fierce mermaids arrive in Rayburn, making waves and casting a convincing siren song to lure new allies. Nova and Victor must reunite their groups to discover what the mermaids are really looking for to protect the fragile harmony they’ve worked so hard to build.”
Paul Hoen will once again return as director and executive producer, with Hoen having directed every film in the franchise to date. In addition to Manheim and Donnelly, executive producers are Jane Fleming, Mark Ordesky, Joseph Raso and David Light. Skot Bright will produce, with choreography by Dondraico Johnson and an original score composed by Tom Howe. Chris Hazzard, Michael Fontana and Eydie Faye all join the fifth film as writers.
The ‘Zombies’ films have become a major franchise for Disney Channel Original Movies. The first three films were all major ratings and streaming hits, while the fourth film received 9.3 million views worldwide in its first nine days of streaming, increasing to 43 million views in less than six months, according to Disney streaming data.
