The cast for Disney's next live-action villain-focused film was confirmed. The studio has somewhat shifted its focus in recent years, moving from live-action adaptations of its classic animated films to telling the villain's side of the story. The Descendants franchise has become a particularly popular take on this, with the movie musical series focusing on the children of Disney's iconic villains.
The fifth Descendants film in the franchise, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, is set to release this summer, and now we know which cast members will play villains in the series (or are related to Disney villains). Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is a direct continuation of Descendants: The Rise of Red, which ended with Red and Chloe embarking on a time-traveling adventure thanks to their super-powered pocket watch.
In an official first look for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, it was confirmed that Kylie Cantrall will return to play Red, aka the daughter of the Queen of Hearts/the villain from Alice in Wonderland.
In a twist on the Alice in Wonderland mythology, the villain in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland will be the Maddox Hatter, played by Leonardo Nam, the son of the Mad Hatter. He takes an antagonistic turn in the next film as he ruthlessly seeks his magic pocket watch.
Rita Ora returns in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland as Red's mother, the Queen of Hearts, marking the second live-action appearance of the villainous character alongside Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal in the Tim Burton adaptation.
A newcomer to the cast of this fifth film is Liamani Segura as Pink, Red's sister, who was inadvertently created when Red and Chloe messed with time.
Brendon Tremblay makes his debut in the fifth Descendants film as Max Hatter, the son of Maddox Hatter and grandson of Mad Hatter, who is a friend of Red's.
Another new character is Kiara Romero's Hazen Hook, the daughter of Peter Pan's villainous Captain Hook.
Felix Falicier, the son of Princess and the Frog's villain Dr. Falicier, is appearing in Descendants 5, played by Zavien Garrett.
Lastly, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland will also contain the debut of new actors as the Smee siblings. The brothers are the sons of Captain Hook's first mate, Mr. Smee.
Ryan McEwan will play Squirmy Smee, while Dayton Paradis will take on Squeaky Smee.
All the announced cast members for Descendants 5 can be found below:
- Kylie Cantrall - Red
- Malia Baker - Chloe
- Leonardo Nam - Maddox Hatter
- Melanie Paxson - Fairy Godmother
- Brandy - Cinderella
- Paolo Mantalban - King Charming
- Rita Ora - Queen of Hearts
- Liamani Segura - Pink
- Alexandro Byrd - Luis Madrigal
- Brendon Tremblay - Max Hatter
- Kiara Romero - Hazel Hook
- Joel Oulette - Robbie Hood
- Zavien Garrett - Felix Falicier
- Ryan McEwan - Squirmy Smee
- Dayton Paradis - Squeaky Smee
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland will be released this summer, but it's not the only live-action villain film on Disney's slate right now.
Disney's Upcoming Villain-Focused Movies
Cruella 2
Disney saw great success in telling the untold story of the 101 Dalmations villain, Cruella de Vil, in 2021. Starring Emma Stone as the titular villain, Cruella took place in the 1970s, following Estella Miller's journey to become the notorious fashion designer she is in the classic Disney film.
A sequel to Cruella was confirmed in 2021, with director Craig Gillespie, writer Tony McNamara, and Stone expected to return. There's been little to no news about the sequel since its confirmation five years ago, though it's still considered to be in development. Gillespie has since gone on to direct Supergirl for DC Studios, while Stone has a slew of different projects she's attached to, so it may be a case of timing for Cruella 2 to happen.
Maleficent 3
Maleficent was the first of these villain-focused live-action adaptations, releasing in 2014 with Angelina Jolie starring as the classic Sleeping Beauty antagonist. Maleficent was enough of a commercial success to greenlight a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, in 2019.
Jolie publicly stated she was attached to Maleficent 3, which was in development as of 2023, and in 2025, attached Linda Woolverton (the writer of the previous instalments) to pen the third film. This was the last that was heard of Maleficent 3, which was rumored to be one of three films Disney shelved.
Gaston
It was only late in 2025 that Disney confirmed a Gaston movie was in development, focusing on the villain from the Beauty and the Beast stories. The swashbuckling Disney film would put the villainous hunter at the forefront of the story, who tries to slay the beast out of his infatuation with the film's heroine, Belle.
Luke Evans portrayed Gaston in the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast in the 2017 film, but there was no indication of whether he would be the lead in this new iteration. The movie is still in script development, with Dave Callaham attached to write and Michelle Rejwan producing.
