Are you ready to return to Seabrook? ZOMBIES 3 beams onto Disney+ on July 15th and in advance of the premiere, I had the chance to chat with the cast about their experience making the third film in the franchise, which finds a trio of extra-terrestrial aliens arriving just as Addison and Zed prepare for graduation and the next chapter of their lives!
For Milo Manheim (Zed) and Meg Donnelly (Addison), the biggest change from making the previous two films were new safety protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, because production was put in a safety bubble to prevent contact with the disease, it allowed the cast to grow even closer together. This included the arrival of three new cast members to the family – Terry Hu (A-spen), Matt Cornett (A-Ian), Kyra Tantao (A-li). The duo also shared that they would love to work together again, hoping to star in a live-action adaptation of Tangled as Flynn Rider and Rapunzel.
Chandler Kinney (Willa) and Pearce Joza (Wyatt) echoed the sentiment about welcoming new cast members to the ZOMBIES family. Ariel Martin (Wynter) shared that the choreography was more complicated in this film, with each species taking on its own unique dance style. A new challenge for Pearce was acting opposite a character who wasn’t on-set for his scenes, Eliza.
Kylee Russell (Eliza) filmed all of her scenes away from the rest of the cast, so she’s excited to see her cast mates at the world premiere of the film. Her scenes were filmed after everyone elses, so she at least got to hear their voice recordings during her shoots. Representing one of the few human characters in the film, Carla Jeffery (Bree) discussed the core message of the film, being accepting of other people’s differences.
Terry Hu is a non-binary actor playing a non-binary character, A-spen, something they wish they had access to as a child. Zombies 3 is Kyra Tantao’s first big movie and the casting process took about a month, but it was well worth it for the amazing experience she had making the film. Matt Cornett rounds out the alien trio, likening his Zombies 3 family to that of his cast mates on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Music plays a key role in Zombies 3 and the cast has lived with brand-new songs that have yet to be released. Ahead of the music hitting streaming services, I asked them which songs were their favorites in the new film.
- Milo, Meg, Chandler, Ariel – "Ain't No Doubt About It"
- Carla and Kylee – "Alien Invasion"
- Pearce – "Exceptional Zed"
- Kyra and Matt – "Come On Out"
- Terry – “Nothing But Love”
Milo and Meg also talked about the importance of the song “Someday” in their lives and shared their love for the Zombies 3 version of it, which becomes an ensemble piece sung by the whole cast.
As a fun bonus, Milo, Meg, Pearce, Ariel, and Kylee recently joined forces in EPCOT at Walt Disney World for Disney Summer Magic Quest, the third competition game set in a Disney theme park with the cast of the ZOMBIES films. This third game was extra special because they got to experience two brand-new attractions (Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure) and see the new nighttime spectacular Harmonious, all while having the park to themselves after hours.
Disney Summer Magic Quest is now streaming on Disney+ and you can see ZOMBIES 3 exclusively on Disney+ on July 15th, with a Disney Channel premiere scheduled for August 12th, which will be an extended version with a bonus song.
