Brandy is stepping back into her glass slippers. The singer and actress will reprise her role as Cinderella in a new Descendants movie, titled “The Pocketwatch.” Brandy celebrated the news in an Instagram post on Nov. 21, writing, “So excited to join this amazing cast and reprise my role as #Cinderella in the #DisneyDescendants sequel The Pocketwatch. Thank you to my @disney and @disneyplus fam.” Singer Rita Ora has also joined the project as the Queen of Hearts.
The new movie isn’t a continuation of the original Descendants movie trilogy, but rather a new story with new characters set in the same universe. Disney first announced the new movie back in May, writing in a press release at the time that the movie is set in “the hostile unincorporated territory of Wonderland, a magical, mysterious place made famous in ‘Alice in Wonderland.'” The film will introduce Red, the “whip-smart and rebellious teenage daughter of the Queen of Hearts,” and Chloe, “the perfectionist and athletic daughter of Cinderella and Prince Charming.” With a coup brewing in Auradon — right when the kingdom is celebrating a new royal baby — the pair join forces to go back in time, using the White Rabbit’s pocket watch, to stop a dangerous event from occurring.
The new movie, written by Dan Frey and Russell Sommer, will be directed by Jennifer Phang. Disney says the movie will feature seven new songs — plus classic Disney tunes — and premiere on Disney+, though Disney has yet to announce a release date.
“Descendants 3” premiered on Disney Channel back in 2019, and it seemed that the studio wasn’t going to revisit the universe and its characters. After the untimely passing of Cameron Boyce, who played Cruella de Vil’s son Carlos, it was hard to imagine a film following the franchise’s main characters without him.
“Descendants 3” ends with Carlos racing toward The Isle of the Lost alongside Mal, Evie, and Jay. Though it doesn’t necessarily suggest a conclusion, viewers noticed something missing. The previous two Descendants films end with the line, “You didn’t think this was the end of the story, did you?” In “Descendants 3,” the final line is conspicuously absent.
One of the film’s stars, Sofia Carson, took to Instagram to share a picture of her character on the day of the film’s release, and her caption seemed to suggest that she was saying goodbye to the role. “My Dearest Evie,” she wrote. “As I write this, I cannot bring myself to say goodbye to you . . . but this is not a good bye. You and I are bound at the heart from here until eternity. And until then I will love you, Evie. Forever and for always.”
Back in May 2019, before Boyce’s passing, Dove Cameron, another one of the film’s stars, shared a series of now-deleted pictures on Instagram alongside a caption that claimed she had just recorded her last song for the Descendants, and no, not just for “Descendants 3.” “Just had the best recording session of my whole life, and it just so happened to be my last ever #descendants song,” she wrote, calling it a “bittersweet moment.”
Ahead, here’s everything we know about “The Pocketwatch.”
“The Pocketwatch” Cast
Joining Brandy as Cinderella and Ora as the Queen of Hearts are Malia Baker as Chloe, Cinderella’s daughter, and Kylie Cantrall as Red, the Queen of Hearts’s daughter. China Anne McClain plays Uma and Dara Reneé plays Ulyana, both Ursula’s daughters. Joshua Colley is Hook; Morgan Dudley is Ella, the young Cinderella; and Ruby Rose Turner is Bridget, the young Queen of Hearts. Lastly, Melanie Paxson is reprising her role as the Fairy Godmother.
“The Pocketwatch” Creative Team
The Disney+ film will be directed by Phang and was written by Frey and Sommer.