Franchise Stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly To Executive Produce Alongside Award-Winning Creative Team
(BURBANK, Calif. – March 2, 2026) A fifth installment of the hit Disney Channel Original Movie “ZOMBIES” franchise has been greenlit for Disney+ and Disney Channel, with Malachi Barton and Freya Skye set to return to their breakout roles as Victor and Nova. Franchise stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly return to executive produce, while Trevor Tordjman returns as Bucky, the beloved cheer captain and cousin of Addison from the original trilogy. The film begins production this spring in New Zealand. An official title will be announced at a later date.
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Following the events of “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires,” the newfound peace between the Daywalkers and Vampires is put to the test when a band of fierce mermaids arrives in Rayburn, making waves and casting a persuasive siren song to lure in new allies. Nova and Victor must unite their groups once more to discover what the mermaids are really after in order to protect the fragile harmony they worked so hard to build.
The returning cast includes Malachi Barton as Victor, Freya Skye as Nova, Swayam Bhatia as Vera, Julian Lerner as Ray, and Mekonnen Knife as Vargas from “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires.” New to the franchise are a trio of mysterious mermaids: Diaana Babnicova as cool-girl Pearl, Taylor Oliver as bad-boy Fin, and Olive Mortimer as tech-wiz Sandy. Emily Costtrici joins the cast as zombie Izzy, Zed’s zombie cousin and new transfer student.
DGA Award-winner Paul Hoen, director and executive producer of the entire “ZOMBIES” franchise, will return for this latest installment. Also returning are executive producers Jane Fleming, Mark Ordesky, Joseph Raso and David Light and producer Skot Bright, alongside Manheim and Donnelly. The movie features next-level dance sequences, choreographed by Dondraico Johnson, and an original score composed by Tom Howe. Joining the creative team are writers Chris Hazzard, Michael Fontana and Eydie Faye.
“‘ZOMBIES’ has become a defining franchise for the current generation,” said Ayo Davis, president, Disney Branded Television. “With each movie, we intentionally push the story somewhere new. Introducing mermaids in ‘ZOMBIES 5’ opens up a completely different dynamic, while staying true to the music, characters and themes of unity and acceptance that are at the heart of these films.”
The “ZOMBIES” franchise has become one of the most popular Disney Channel Original Movie franchises, with cable telecasts for the first three films ranking No. 1 among Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 in their premiere years,* and garnering 385 million-hours watched across linear and streaming in the U.S. (including series and shorts).** The summer 2024 premiere of “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires” garnered 9.3 million views globally in its first nine days streaming, amassing 43 million views in less than 6 months.***
The “ZOMBIES 5” greenlight news comes during a landmark year for Disney Channel fans, as 2026 celebrates the milestone anniversaries of “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana,” leading into the premieres of new franchise installments “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” and “Camp Rock 3” this summer. Last summer’s smash hit “Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Tour” now includes a concert special streaming on Disney+, and it was just announced that the “Worlds Collide Tour” will return this year with talent from “Descendants,” “ZOMBIES” and “Camp Rock” franchises.
“ZOMBIES,” ZOMBIES 2,” “ZOMBIES 3,” “ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires,” and “ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series” are now streaming on Disney+ and can be found in the “ZOMBIES” Collection on the service. The all-new short-form series “Locker Diaries: ZOMBIES” is now available on Disney+, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok with additional episodes rolling out every Saturday until mid-April.
*Source: Nielsen, Live+35, Z1: 1/29/18 – 2/25/18, Z2: 1/27/20 –2/23/20, Z3: 8/1/22 – 8/28/22; ranked on average audience, based on cable movies only
**Source: Nielsen Media Research from Z1 to 12/28/25; Overall includes Movies, Shorts, Specials and episodes of specials and series that are Zombies themed; Connected TV only - no mobile/tablet
***Source: Internal Disney+ streaming data
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