A star of the Zombies franchise teased the existence of Disney's Zombies 5, telling fans the newly debuted fourth release in the series is the "start of another trilogy." The supernatural series of Disney Channel movie musicals has been winning fans over since its debut in 2018. Since then, the Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly-led franchise has spawned four movies, two television shorts, and an animated TV series.
After several years away from the spotlight, Zombies ended its most extended break yet on Thursday, July 10, with the debut of the long-awaited Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires. The new film is a welcome addition to the Zombies canon by longtime fans, but many wonder if this is the end of Addison and Zed's on-screen adventures or the start of a new chapter for the skin-crawling musical world. New quotes from one of the Zombies franchise's most prominent stars suggest that Zombies 5 is already in the works, teasing that the recently released Zombies 4 could be the start of a new era for the franchise.
Zombies returned to TV screens with the recent release of Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, following Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim as Addison and Zed. The pair of teenage heroes head out on a summer road trip where they find themselves stuck in yet another supernatural rivalry: Vampires vs Daywalkers.
Is There Going To Be a Zombies 5?
No further Zombies adventures have been confirmed, but Dawn of the Vampires teases that more could be in the works with an exciting final-moment stinger.
During Zombies 4's final moments, a water vortex opens in front of new stars Nova and Victor (played by Freya Skye and Malachi Barton, respectively), potentially hinting at a water-themed sequel. This could perhaps see the team cross paths with a species of water creature in the next movie, potentially taking a swan dive into the world of mermaids like it has done with zombies and vampires.
Milo Manheim indicated in several recent interviews that Zombies 5 is already in the works. The franchise star and executive producer told Deadline while promoting Dawn of the Vampires that he sees the most recent movie as "the start of another trilogy:"
"It’s almost like the first three movies were one trilogy, and then this is like the start of another trilogy."
"I think that one of the amazing things about this franchise is that we've kind of created this universe that can go any direction," the Zed actor added, seeing plenty of potential by "expanding" the world of the movies:
"I think that one of the amazing things about this franchise is that we’ve kind of created this universe that can go any direction. We’re really just expanding and literally getting outside of Seabrook. So I’m curious to see what happens. I think the world could always use another 'Zombies' movie."
This aligns with what Manheim told JoBlo in the lead-up to Zombies 4's release. In that conversation, the 24-year-old remarked that he has "been so surprised that we've been able to keep making these movies," and he "[hopes] to continue:"
"Well, I'd say the biggest way that my idea of the future of this franchise has shifted was that it's going to exist. I thought after 'Zombies 1,' that would be it. So, I've been so surprised that we've been able to keep making these movies and, you know, it seems like people are loving them, and I hope to continue, but this has been a very long journey for me and Meg [Donnelly]."
He said, "Hopefully if we continue doing them, we'll at least have say off-camera," adding that he and his fellow franchise co-star Meg Donnelly would like to do more behind the camera as well:
"So, it's, you know, we've really seen each other at different stages going through this. But I just feel like we both really stepped up to the plate this time and like we've been saying, we've always kind of had producer brains and we've always voiced how we feel about this movie or cool things that we could add, but that wasn't really our job. And now it is our job and it's really great, because we totally understand this movie and I think we just get the vibes. But hopefully if we continue doing them, we'll at least have say off-camera and be making magic behind the lens."
If Zombies 5 Happens, When Will It Release?
If Zombies 5 is eventually announced, the next question will be when it will be released. Seeing as no official announcement has been made for a fifth Zombies movie, there is no publicly available release information for the potential sequel.
Thus far in the franchise, new movies have come anywhere between two and three years after the last film:
- Zombies - 2018
- Zombies 2 - 2020
- Zombies 3 - 2022
- Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires - 2025
The longest wait for a new movie came with this latest entry into the long-running franchise, which took roughly three years to make it to the screen after it was first announced in 2023.
If this is the start of a new trilogy, as star Milo Manheim teased, then it would make sense for the franchise to return to the more regular cadence of its first three films.
Given that Disney will release another long-awaited Disney Channel Original Movie sequel, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, next year, getting a Zombies 5 in 2026 seems unlikely. Instead, the studio will likely stagger these tentpole releases, with Zombies 5 coming in 2027 if it were to happen.
