Descendants: Wicked Wonderland featured a twist in its third act, in which co-lead Chloe Charming turned evil thanks to scheming by one of the film's new characters. The latest film in Disney's ongoing Original Movie franchise dealt with the ramifications of 2024's Rise of Red, in which Kylie Cantrall's Red and Malia Baker's Chloe Charming traveled back in time to save both of their mothers. As a result, a new timeline was created in which newcomer Max Hatter (Brendon Tremblay) became a Villain Kid rather than Hero Kid.
Max, grandson of the Mad Hatter and son of Maddox Hatter, eventually finds out about Red and Chloe's time-traveling altercations, specifically that his dad used to be much nicer to him (and to the world in general). In Descendants 5, Max's dad is now bent on finding the Pocket Watch, the device Red and Chloe used in Rise of Red. As a result, Maddox was trapped on the Isle of List for many years before being brought back to Wonderland by Rita Ora's Queen of Hearts.
In Wicked Wonderland, now streaming on Disney+, Maddox becomes a full-fledged villain who wants to secure the Pocket Watch and take control of Wonderland. Blamed for his father's treachery, Max discovers this timeline was never supposed to exist and sets out to find the Pocket Watch to restore his former life. His search leads him to Red and Chloe, the only two who know its location, but with Red off gallivanting with Luis Madrigal, son of Luisa from Encanto, Max focuses on Chloe as her friendship with Red begins to unravel.
Using his father's inventions and magic, Max creates a glowing blue gem that he places within a bracelet to give to Chloe, which will help him convert her to his side and lead him to the Pocket Watch.
Through a duet between Max and Chloe, "Heartless," Max convinces Chloe to don the bracelet. Chloe is at her wits' end, having lost her best friend, Red, and feeling more alone than ever in the new timeline she helped create.
As soon as she puts on the bracelet, Chloe undergoes a complete transformation. Her curly hair straightens and glistens, and her more formal princess attire becomes an outfit akin to a royal general's.
Now that Max has Chloe on his side, they're able to track down the Pocket Watch with the intent of undoing everything Red and Chloe accomplished in Rise of Red.
This hero-turned-villain pathway is similar to what happened with Audrey Rose (Sarah Jeffery) in Descendants 3, where she stole Maleficent's scepter to take down Dove Cameron's Mal for changing the trajectory of her once-perfect life.
By the end of Descendants 5, though, Chloe is broken free of Max's manipulation thanks to the power of her friendship with Red. The bracelet and gem within it are discarded, though the gem is not destroyed (which may tie into the next Descendants movie).
What Will Happen to Chloe Charming in Descendants 6?
Given that Malia Baker's Chloe Charming seemed to be firmly back on the Hero Kids side by the end of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, it's unlikely the next movie would reuse that same story beat. However, this isn't to say that her friendship with Red wouldn't be leveraged by whatever antagonistic forces are at play.
The end of Descendants 5 teases more to come, especially regarding Liamani Segura's Pink and a mysterious glowing object she finds. It's possible this object is the same gem that turned Chloe evil; Pink could be next in line to undergo a similar transformation. As such, it would take the whole cast of new and returning characters to help bring Pink (or whoever may inherit the gem) back to the good side.
The question of who would try to use the gem for evil could be answered by a returning villain (such as Maddox) or an entirely new one (there are several untapped franchises Descendants could use). Past Descendants projects have brought back returning villains, so this new saga could take a similar route.
Either way, Chloe is likely to remain a protagonist next time around, considering her friendship with Red is now stronger than ever. Since the time-travel ramifications from Rise of Red seem to be fully addressed, this could allow Chloe to maybe explore a romantic relationship of her own (since Red is coupled up with Luis Madrigal). Some fan theories suggest that Chloe and Hazel Hook, the daughter of Captain Hook, could become more than friends amid moments of tension in Wicked Wonderland.
