Zombies (franchise)

The Zombies franchise consists 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 has continued on, with the most recent movie being Zombies 3 (2022). 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]}

It all started 50 years ago in the planned community of Seabrook where a lime soda incident at the Seabrook Power Plant caused an explosion that turned anyone exposed to its fog into brain-eating zombies. The zombies were contained in an area called Zombieville and the government later made Z-Bands to keep them from craving brains through electromagnetic pulses. The second film revealed a pre-Seabrook history involving werewolves having an artifact known as the moonstone that the settlers fought them over.

The franchise follows Zed, a zombie, and Addison, a human cheerleader, as they fall in love and fight for acceptance in monsters in Seabrook. Zed and Addison would break the fourth wall to explain some things to the viewers. The franchise has received the most critical acclaim and popularity of any of Disney's most recent properties yet, and has become one of Disney Channel's highest rated film series to date.

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]

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.

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]

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 for the film began 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]

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.

In June 2022, during the Annecy Film Festival, it was reported that an animated series, titled Zombies: The Re-animated Series, is 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] and the full series debuted on June 28, 2024.^[15]

At the Disney Entertainment Showcase on August 9, 2024, held during the D23 Expo, Disney Branded Television, Disney Concerts, Disney Music Group, and AEG have announced the Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour, set for summer 2025.^[21][22] This tour will bring together stars from both the Descendants and Zombies franchises, with confirmed appearances by the Descendants: The Rise of Red and Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires stars Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Dara Reneé, Ruby Rose Turner, Freya Skye and Malachi Barton, with more to be announced later. The tour will be an immersive and interactive live concert experience celebrating the high-energy music from both franchises and will be held in arenas across the United States with ticket sales to begin in November 2024.^[23]

Reception for the films have been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes Zombies (1) got a 62% audience rating, While 2 and 3 came in lower at 52% (Zombies 2) and 60% (Zombies 3). This isn't great, although there are people who really like this franchise (mostly young children). The critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes for Zombies 2 and 3 were positive, although they had very few reviews.