Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim Had No Idea What Addison's Identity Would Be Going Into Zombies 3
Take me to your (cheer)leader.
There’s an alien invasion on Disney+ as the monster musical franchise returns for Zombies 3. The new film tackles societal pressures and seeing from others perspectives, as it introduces us to a new set of supernatural beings at the cheerleading-obsessed Seabrook with aliens. I spoke with the cast during the Zombies 3 junket about their character development, the new rendition of “Someday,” and Addison’s true identity.
Throughout the franchise, Zed the Zombie has a lot of pressure on himself to pave the way for not only zombies, but all monsterkind. “He's applying to college in this third movie and it would be huge if he gets in because he'd be the first monster to ever attend, but on top of that if he doesn't get in that could mean the end of him and Addison's relationship. [There’s] a lot on his plate right now,” Milo Manheim told me. “I've definitely felt like that in my life before. Often there's pressure put on everybody, whether it's getting a good grade on your test or making sure that they're having a hard conversation with somebody. You get nervous about doing that, but ultimately you have to step up to the plate and do what you know is right.”
Meanwhile Addison has spent the franchise trying to figure out who she is in the diverse world of Seabrook filled with humans, zombies, werewolves, and now aliens. Meg Donnelly reveals she had no idea what Addison’s identity would be leading up to this third film. “We had no idea. Even when they ended on a cliffhanger in Zombies 2, I kept asking, ‘So what does that mean?’ and they were like, ‘We’re not gonna tell you,” shared Donnelly. “So when we got the script for the third movie I was really excited for people to discover what Addison goes through. Through her self-discovery, she learned so much. One of the themes in the movie is just having conversations with people who are so different from you and learning more about the world, which means you learn more about yourself. Addison has really done that. Just from meeting Zed she had the courage to stand up for herself in front of everybody and snatch her wig, which was incredible. She just kept growing more and more confident and more sure of herself. Even though she doesn’t really know where she belongs, she’s really confident in the fact that she loves being a leader in any form of the word.”
Manheim continued: “That's what Zed keeps reminding her. She accepted the zombies, the werewolves, everyone. She’s really a part of all of those cultures because she paved the way for all of them to be accepted.”
Zombies 3 also finds the cast performing a new rendition of “Someday,” the iconic song that has been reimagined in each film. “‘Someday’ has been such a big part of the Zombies franchise for us and for the fans since the first one. It really spoke to what Zombies is all about so […] being able to be a part of it [in the third film] was so beautiful,” said Ariel Martin. “It was kind of our way of not saying goodbye, but looking back on our journey and our story and how we’ve all cecome such a beautiful family.”
“I’m really grateful that everybody was able to be a part of this song because the message obviously applies to Zed and Addison, but it's also just ‘Someday’ for a better world. I think Seabrook is a great metaphor for the world we could have if we were a little bit more accepting,” shared Manheim. “That's the point in the movie where I started to get a little bit overwhelmed and start to feel the waterworks coming.”
“I'm just really excited for people to see such a continuing diverse cast and, especially young people, being able to see themselves represented on screen,” shared Kyra Tantao.
Zombies 3 is streaming on Disney+.
