Zombies, werewolves, and aliens come face to face in Zombies 3, the third installment of the ultra-popular Disney film series. Premiering July 15, the threequel pays another visit to the sunny town of Seabrook, which happens to be a favorite spot for all manner of supernatural species to land. After making peace with zombies and welcoming werewolves, it’s now senior year for the main characters and they are about to battle aliens in an intergalactic cheer-off.
The universe of the Zombies franchise already expanded previously when the werewolf clan, led by Willa (Chandler Kinney of the upcoming Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin), was introduced. She and her best were-friends Wynter (Ariel Martin) and Wyatt (Pearce Joza) have grown to care for their fellow humans and zombies, but that won’t stop them from being suspicious of the aliens. The cast of the beloved musical also includes Meg Donnelly as Addison, Milo Manheim as Zed, Carla Jeffery as Bree, Trevor Tordjman as Bucky, Kylee Russell as Eliza, Terry Hu as A-spen, Matt Cornett as A-lan, Kyra Tantao as A-li, James Godfrey as Bonzo and Kingston Foster as Zoey.
Screen Rant spoke to Kinney, Martin and Joza about who’s crushing on who in the romance department and who’s crushing who on the football field in Zombies 3.
Screen Rant: Willa has faced down humans, zombies and even vampires. Next up is aliens. How does she protect her pack this time?
Chandler Kinney: I love that you have the Moonstone Mystery tie-in! Yes, I don’t think that the aliens are much different. Willa is a bit distrustful and very suspicious of the aliens when they first invade – in a very disruptive way, I might say, but with a very cool dance number alien invasion which sets off Zombies 3 with a bang. It’s an epic dance number.
But she definitely doesn’t know why they’re in Seabrook, and she doesn’t quite believe the reasons that they give initially – she might have good reason to. Se definitely has her claws out and is ready to protect her pack at all costs.
Pearce, while once there was chemistry with Addison, now perhaps there is with Eliza. Can we discuss what there might be between her and Wyatt?
Pearce Joza: Yes, it is cooking with a lot of gas, I would say. Yes, indeed.
I can’t give away too much, but yes. Wyatt has a little crush that’s not so little on Eliza, and he does pursue it. He doesn’t give up, and we’ll see where it goes. We’ll see where it goes, but I think it ended well.
I love Wynter, especially as a football player. I love that we’re integrating not only different species but different genders in our sports. How do you think Wynter purchasable and how many people are injured in the process?
Ariel Martin: How many were injured in the process? Well, a lot. Wynter is a quarterback, but I think the cool thing with her is she’s always been this really over-the-top kind of girl. In Zombies 2, she was always worried about if her personality was too much. And instead of pushing that away and becoming something else, she really embraced herself and was like, “No, this is me. Not only do I love myself, and I’m gonna learn how to love myself, but the people around me loved me. I need to listen to them and really embrace me.”
And so, she decided to you on the football team, which I think is perfect for her. Like you said, it’s great to play a character that is representing having all genders in any kind of sport. And for girls out there to see that you can do anything you want!
Chandler, I’m sure you cannot say anything, but there is a dynamic for Will that I really love coming up in this film. What can you tease about this?
Chandler Kinney: I think Willa has been very focused on protecting her pack, and making sure no one’s here to steal the moonstone. These are important things for Willa to be focused on, but once she can maybe shift her focus to other things, it might be nice to get to know someone. Spend some time with a special someone – maybe an alien.
I don’t want to say too much, but I say that I love the aliens, and I think Aspen’s pretty cool. That’s all I have to say. They’ve got some cool style there.
Everyone gets a little swept up in the spirit of competition in this film. What is one thing that each of you are very competitive about in life?
Chandler Kinney: Games!
Ariel Martin: Chandler’s very competitive in games.
Pearce Joza: Can confirm. You’re really competitive.
I think I’m competitive with myself about just about everything. And I know that’s not an answer, but it is kind of an answer. Anything that I do, I try to hold myself to a very high standard, so I’m kind of competitive with myself. It’s me versus me. But that’s a good trade, I feel.
Zombies 3 Synopsis
It’s Zed and Addison’s final year at Seabrook and things are better than ever. The town has finally accepted monsters as a part of Seabrook and has become a safe haven for monsters and humans alike. Zed is on the cusp of receiving a football scholarship and becoming the first Zombie to ever attend college (and he’s excited to join Addison who has already been admitted). Addison is excited to mark the opening of the town’s brand new “cheer pavilion” by inviting cheer teams from all over the world to compete in an “international cheer-off.”
However, the town is shocked by the arrival of a new group of intergalactic outsiders – Aliens, who show up to compete in the cheer-off. Though they begrudgingly allow the Aliens to stay for the competition – the monsters and humans of Seabrook grow suspicious when they discover that the Aliens may be looking for more than a friendly competition.
Check out our other interviews with Zombies 3 stars Milo Manheim & Meg Donnelly as well as Trevor Tordjman, Kylee Russell & Carla Jeffery and Terry Hu, Matt Cornett & Kyra Tantao.
Zombies 3 premieres July 15 on Disney+.