From left: Darren Criss and Sherry Cola. Ian Johnston; Leslie Alejandro Logo text Actor-singer Darren Criss and actress-comedian Sherry Cola have joined the cast of Disney Channel‘s Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story, which expands the Descendants universe by focusing on iconic Disney sidekicks.
Criss (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Maybe Happy Ending) has been tapped to play Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio, while Sherry Cola (Joy Ride, Disney’s Camp Rock 3) is set as Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove.
Also joining the cast are Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart as Genie from Aladdin, a role he also played on Broadway; Hugo Ateo (Siren) as Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove, Sean Yves Lessard (Reginald the Vampire) as Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast and Dan Bakkedahl (Veep) as Yen Sid from “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” in Fantasia.
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The movie is described as a music-and-dance-fueled movie that “centers on the journey of the unsung heroes behind Disney’s greatest adventures.”
The official logline: “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.”
Hidden Heroes stars Dior Goodjohn (Percy Jackson and the Olympians,) as Jennie, daughter of Genie from Aladdin; Momona Tamada (The Baby-Sitters Club) as Zara, daughter of Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove; Jacob Rodriguez (Tell Me Lies) 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.
Also in the cast are Rhys Dawkins, Connor Wong and Kyra Wong as the Potts Siblings (from Beauty and the Beast).
The movie, directed by Jude Weng (Only Murders in the Building), was written by Tamara Chestna, Eydie Faye and Emma Fletcher. Mark Ordesky (Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires) and Jane Fleming (Zombies 4) are executive producers, alongside Gary Marsh and Chestna, who executive produced Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Louise Hradsky and Jeffrey Mortensen are the choreographers. The movie is produced by Disney Kids & Family.
Last month’s premiere of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the fifth film in the wildly successful franchise, ranked as the No. 1 movie on Disney+ globally (based on views July 17-27). The soundtrack debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Soundtracks chart, reaching 50.8 million streams globally.
Criss is repped by Gersh, Hyphenate Creative Management and Hansen Jacobsen et al.; Cola is with CAA, Stark Management and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis; Iglehart is repped by Artists & Representatives; Ateo is with Eric Edwards at Lucas Talent; Lessard is with Connekt Creative Inc.; and Bakkedahl is repped by Gersh Agency and The Characters Talent Agency.
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