Descendants fans are headed back down the rabbit hole, and the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella are coming with us. In Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the newly revealed fifth installment of Disney’s wildly popular musical franchise, Brandy Norwood and Rita Ora are reprising their fan-favorite roles as Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts, respectively, and we couldn’t be more elated.
As TVLine confirmed on May 6, 2025, the film picks up after 2024’s The Rise of Red, which ended with a major time-travel cliffhanger…and a warning from Uma: “Getting what you want can be dangerous, especially when you mess with the fabric of time.”
With the magical stakes higher than ever, this new chapter sees Red (Kylie Cantrall) and Chloe (Malia Baker), aka the daughters of the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella, reckon with the consequences of rewriting history.
But they won’t face the fallout alone. Several legacy characters are officially back, including Paolo Montalban as King Charming and Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother, making her fifth appearance in the franchise. Yes, she’s officially our DCOM MVP.
The Descendants’ legacy cast is back
Brandy’s Cinderella and Rita Ora’s Queen of Hearts aren’t just cameos; they’re vital to the story of Wicked Wonderland. “We’re finally seeing the ripple effects of their children’s choices,” notes Deadline, hinting that this Wonderland isn’t the whimsical land we once knew.
Brandy, repped by CAA and SALXCO, not only brings gravitas but also lures a great deal of nostalgia. It marks a full-circle moment, 10 years after Descendants first premiered in 2015.
Other key returns include Paolo Montalban’s King Charming (reuniting him with Brandy in a nod to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella pairing) and Leonardo Nam as Maddox Hatter, the Mad Hatter’s son, who debuted in The Rise of Red. Melanie Paxson, the franchise’s throughline, once again enchants as Fairy Godmother. The magic of this series lives in its multi-generational charm.
Meet the next gen of Wonderland, Encanto, and Neverland
Wicked Wonderland doesn’t just revisit old favorites—it introduces new faces with vivid potential. There’s Princess Pink (Liamani Segura), Red’s younger sister and another daughter of the Queen of Hearts; Max Hatter (Brendon Tremblay), son of Maddox; and Luis Madrigal (Alexandro Byrd), the son of Luisa from Encanto.
We also meet Hazel Hook (Kiara Romero), Captain Hook’s daughter and sister to Harry Hook, and Felix (Zavien Garrett), the son of the sly and sinister Dr. Facilier. Joel Oulette plays Robbie, the human son of Robin Hood (yes, human, not fox), while Ryan McEwen and Dayton Paradis appear as the Smee twins, maybe even reprising their Descendants 3 roles as Squirmy and Squeaky.
This heritage and fresh blood give the franchise exactly what it needs: an intergenerational mashup that still feels like home.
Directed by Kimmy Gatewood (The Baby-Sitters Club) and written by Tamara Chestna (Sneakerella), Dan Frey, and Ru Sommer, the film began production in April 2025 and is slated to premiere on Disney Channel and Disney+ sometime in 2026.
With time coming undone in front of our eyes, and Wonderland contorting into something new, the question is: who else from the Descendants legacy will step through the looking glass next?
