‘Descendants’ Spinoff Centered on Disney Sidekicks in The Works

For over a decade Disney’s Descendants franchise has taken us on adventures with children of iconic Disney heroes and villains. Now, it is the sidekicks turn to get some time in the spotlight.

Disney announced on Friday Descendants: Hidden Heroes, the newest movie in the popular Disney Channel/Disney+ franchise. The spinoff is described as is described as a music-and-dance-fueled movie that “centers on the journey of the unsung heroes behind Disney’s greatest adventures.”

Details on Descendants: Hidden Heroes

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.

This Descendants entry will feature Dior Goodjohn (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) as Jennie, daughter of Genie from Aladdin; Momona Tamada (Avatar: The Last Airbender) as Zara, daughter of Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove; Jacob Rodriguez (Dora and the Search For Sol Dorado) as Kronk Jr., son of Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove; Eva Fossaceca Smedley (Welcome to Flatch) as Meri, daughter of Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty; and Harry Jones (Bury Your Nephew) as Lou, son of Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast.

Rounding out the cast as Rhys Dawkins, Connor Wong and Kyra Wong who will play the sons and daughter of Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast.

Disney didn’t have to go far to find its creative team as director in Jude Weng, who directed multiple episodes of Hulu’s critically acclaimed series Only Murders in the Building, is directing off a script from Tamara Chestna, Eydie Faye and Emma Fletcher, who have all worked on the ZOMBIES franchise. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland producers Gary Marsh and Chestna are back to produce.

Filming should start next week.

The announcement follows last month’s debut of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the fifth film in the franchise. Wicked Wonderland ranked as the number 1 movie on Disney+ globally in mid-July. The soundtrack debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Soundtracks chart, reaching 50.8 million streams globally.

The original Descendants trilogy Descendants, Descendants 2, and Descendants 3 has accumulated over 781 million hours of viewing in the U.S., where each film was also the most-watched television movie of the year among Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 during its premiere year in 2015, 2017, and 2019, respectively. The 3 movies alone have made over $37 million in home video sales. In 2024, Descendants: The Rise of Red debuted on Disney+ as the most-watched original movie among Kids and Girls 6–11.

So, what do you think about this Descendants news?

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