The Zombies Cast Talks Zombies 4, Re-Animated Series, and Legacy: “Hopefully They Keep Making Zombies Movies”

We’ll never forget where we were when a zombie who dreamed of playing football and a seemingly human cheerleader fell in love in Disney’s Zombies. Their connection led to unity in Seabrook, highlighting acceptance and inclusion. Add some werewolves, aliens, and incredible musical numbers and, seven years later, the franchise is as strong as ever. The cast returns to redo senior year in the vibrant animated show Zombies: The Re-Animated Series, while Zombies 4 wrapped filming in May. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly, Chandler Kinney, and Kylee Russell about the animated series, bringing a new generation of actors into the next film, and how the franchise has impacted them.

Milo Manheim calls Zed “his favorite character” to go back to. “There's been so much that I've learned considering Zombies marked the first professional thing I did. […] Every Zombies movie, you see not only a different version of Zed, but there's a different version of Milo behind there. I think it all makes sense that Milo grows alongside Zed. Zed's taught Milo a lot of things,” Manheim told me. “It's really been almost a decade that I've been living with Zed and I always say that he's my favorite character to go back to just because of his attitude.”

While we grew up with these actors, they grew up alongside their characters. “With the first one, I was 16, second one 18, third one 21, and then now I'm 23. Those are really big years of your life and really big pillars. When I was going through the most changes in my life, I feel like Zombies was a part of that,” shared Meg Donnelly. “As I was learning and growing […] I was filming Zombies or doing something Zombies-related. It's just really special to me because it's been there through all of that.”

The biggest lessons they’ve taken away after all these years? “I feel like going back to Zombies and relearning the message of the movie every time we do it is really important. It's all just about acceptance and unity,” said Donnelly, with Manheim adding: “It's just a matter of growing together with a character that you've been with for so long and allowing yourself to change. I think we have a thing of like, ‘Oh, I need to go back to Zed.’ But it's been three years since you've seen Zed, so he's going to be three years changed.”

And a lot is changing in Zombies 4! The cast filmed in New Zealand and this movie marks the first time the characters leave Seabrook. Plus there’s tons of new characters coming into the mix… including vampires! “Meeting these five new kids, me and Meg found ourselves laughing so hard when we were out and about because every day we could see them be more and more like their characters,” shared Manheim. “We could see the dynamics between everybody and we also saw them grow as people. I really wanted to be there as a big brother to hold their hands as they go through this crazy experience.”

“We cannot think of anyone better to hand this world over to. They're also huge fans of Zombies. When the first one came out they were like, ‘I was 9 or 10 years old,’ so they were right in the demographic. They are perfect in their roles [and] have so much love for the franchise, which is all we could ever ask for because we have so much love for it,” said Chandler Kinney, with Donnelly adding: “Watching these kids do what we did on the first movie, it was just so surreal and it was so emotional. I'm so grateful to have just experienced that.”

They are all clearly eager to continue the legacy of the Zombies franchise. “It made sense that we had a new location with these new additions because it just felt like a completely new thing for me. Hopefully they keep making Zombies movies and it'll be like we had the first trilogy and then we have the next trilogy because this fourth movie feels like we've taken a big step in a different direction,” expressed Manheim. “I think this one might have been my most transformative of the Zombies movies as a person so just super grateful all around.”

The cast pulled double duty filming Zombies 4 and lending their voices to Zombies: The Re-Animated Series. The animated show finds their characters returning to redo senior year with plenty of wacky hijinx along the way. “Shooting Zombies 4 at the same time as recording for the series […] reminded me of Zed's humor,” Manheim shared. “It brought me back to the unseriousness of Zombies because, when we're shooting the movies, we have this mission every movie and it's high stakes and we have to get this job done and things go wrong or whatever. In the series, we still have missions and we still have things to do, but the stakes are much lower and it's just sillier.”

“Every moment is my favorite in the [sound] booth,” Kylee Russell exclaimed. “It's so much fun and I wish sessions were even longer. You go in for an hour or two and you're like, ‘No, we're done already? Okay, hurry up and write another script so I can come back in and work.’”

For some actors though, this was their first time diving into voiceover work. “I'm a very visual person. I like going on to set and putting on the costume and the makeup and wearing the Willa boots and then looking at someone into their eyes. That has come really naturally to me,” shared Kinney. “I don't really have much experience in voiceover so this has been a huge leap, but it's been so much fun and a great adventure and a really fun challenge.”

Luckily after years of playing opposite each other, the cast could anticipate how a line would be read by their co-stars, which helped everything come together. It even allowed them to take risks with their characters. “Addison is definitely still the same, but also very different in a lot of ways. I feel like she is way more tame in the movies and way more problem solving. In this one, her problem solving skills in the TV series is very chaotic. It's so funny to watch,” shared Donnelly, with Manheim chiming in: “She's just more in this one. Addison unleashed.”

The animated series is also bringing us a massive amount of new songs to add to our playlists. “Recording the music is really fun as well. Word on the street is we have 34 new songs in this season, which is insane,” revealed Kinney. “I think 13 full length songs. It’s so much of the same musical writing team from the movies and very cohesive with the sound that every Zombies fan knows and loves. Those are really fun to bring to life.”

Zombies: The Re-Animated Series premieres June 28 on Disney Channel and will be available to stream the next day on Disney+. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Zombies 4 will hit our screens in 2025.