Disney’s ‘Descendants’ Universe Is Getting a Sidekick-Focused Spinoff, and the Cast Is Stacked

Disney’s “Descendants” franchise has spent years mining the children of its most iconic heroes and villains for fresh storylines, turning the concept into one of the studio’s most reliable young-adult properties. Every new installment has found a way to reframe familiar fairy tales through a younger generation’s eyes, and the formula has clearly kept working.

That formula is about to take an unexpected turn. Rather than continuing to follow the offspring of Disney’s central protagonists and antagonists, the franchise is shifting its lens toward a group of characters who’ve historically stayed in the background, the sidekicks who supported the heroes without ever getting their own spotlight.

Disney announced Friday that the “Descendants” universe is expanding with a new film titled “Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story,” which goes into production next week and will follow the offspring of beloved sidekicks from “Aladdin,” “The Emperor’s New Groove,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” The project marks a clear departure from the franchise’s usual focus on the children of legendary heroes and villains, instead centering on a group of young recruits training at a secretive location called Sidekick Academy.

The official synopsis describes a hidden portal at the center of each fairy tale leading to that training facility, where descendants of legendary sidekicks are challenged to earn their place among the elite ranks of heroic partners. When a villainous duo threatens the academy, the recruits must band together without any help from heroes or their own parents, relying entirely on their newly learned skills to save the fairytale realm.

The cast list reads like a genuinely creative mashup of Disney’s animated history. Dior Goodjohn, known for “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” leads as Jennie, the daughter of Genie from “Aladdin,” while “The Baby-Sitters Club” alum Momona Tamada plays Zara, daughter of Yzma from “The Emperor’s New Groove.”

Rounding out the primary cast are Jacob Rodriguez from “Tell Me Lies” as Kronk Jr., son of Kronk, also from “The Emperor’s New Groove,” alongside Eva Fossaceca Smedley of “Welcome to Flatch” as Meri, daughter of Merryweather from “Sleeping Beauty,” and Harry Jones as Lou, son of Lumiere from “Beauty and the Beast.” Rhys Dawkins, Connor Wong, and Kyra Wong will also join as the Potts Siblings, a trio of children belonging to Mrs. Potts from “Beauty and the Beast.”

Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis spoke to the thinking behind the new direction, saying, “One of the things that has always made ‘Descendants’ so special is the way it invites audiences to experience familiar Disney stories through an entirely new perspective. With ‘Hidden Heroes,’ we’re finally putting the sidekicks center stage, because they’ve always been an essential part of Disney’s greatest adventures.”

Jude Weng is set to direct the project, working from a script credited to Tamara Chestna, Eydie Faye, and Emma Fletcher. The film’s greenlight follows the success of “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland,” continuing a franchise pattern of finding new corners of the Disney animated canon to explore through fresh young ensembles.

For a franchise built almost entirely on reimagining familiar characters through new eyes, giving the sidekicks their own dedicated spotlight feels like a natural next step. Whether audiences respond as enthusiastically to Genie’s daughter and Kronk Jr. as they did to previous “Descendants” leads remains to be seen once production wraps and the film heads toward release.

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