Cheyenne Jackson Descendants 3

It may sound like fanfic, but it seems two of Disney’s nastiest villains hooked up in a romantic sense over a decade ago– Maleficent from ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and Hades from ‘Hercules’.  At least that is the story according to the ‘Descendants’ movies, the third of which will arrive next summer.

While the real focus of ‘Descendants’ is the teen cast, the first featured several stars of the stage and screen as their parents– Kristin Chenoweth as Maleficent, Kathy Najimy as the Evil Queen, Wendy Raquel Robinson as Cruella De Ville and Maz Jobrani as Jafar.  Now another veteran has been added to ‘Descendants 3’– Cheyenne Jackson.

cheyenne jackson
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Jackson’s first starring role on Broadway was in ‘Altar Boys’ before gaining greater acclaim for ‘All Shook Up’.  He has since starred in several more productions including ‘Xanadu’ and ‘Damn Yankees’.  He gained wider recognition for his roles on ’30 Rock’, ‘Glee’ and most recently the last three installments of ‘American Horror Story’ and he will return for the upcoming eighth season.

Jackson will play Hades, who turns out to be the father of the film’s main character, Mal (Dove Cameron).  Chenoweth played Mal’s mother Maleficent in the first movie, but none of the villain parents appeared in 2017’s ‘Descendants 2’.  It doesn’t appear that they will be in ‘Descendants 3’ either, but in addition to Jackson’s Hades, the new movie welcomes Jamal Sims as Dr. Facilier from ‘The Princess and the Frog’, Jadah Marie as his daughter Celia and Christian Convery as Squeaky and Luke Roessler as Squirmy, the twin sons of ‘Peter Pan”s Smee.

‘Descendants’ became one of the most successful Disney Channel Original Movies ever in 2015.  Directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega of ‘High School Musical’ and ‘Hocus Pocus’ fame, the movie follows four teenage children of Disney’s most notorious villains who are invited to attend the prestigious Auradon prep school, alongside the offspring of the heroes and princesses.  In addition to Cameron, the cast included Sophia Carson as Evie (daughter of the Evil Queen), Cameron Boyce as Carlos (son of Cruella DeVille) and Booboo Stewart as Jay (son of Jafar) with Mitchell Hope as Ben (son of Beauty & the Beast), Sarah Jeffrey as Audrey (daughter of Sleeping Beauty), Brenna D’Amico as Jane (daughter of the Fairy Godmother), Zachary Gibson as Doug (son of Dopey), Jedidiah Goodacre as Chad Charming (son of Cinderella and Prince Charming) and Dianne Doan as Lonnie (daughter of Mulan).  In addition to the villain parents, the adult cast included Melanie Paxson as the Fairy Godmother, Dan Payne as the Beast and Keegan Connor Tracy as Belle.

Last summer’s ‘Descendants 2’ introduced China Anne McClain as Uma, the daughter of Ursula, Thomas Dougherty as Harry, the son of Captain Hook, Dylan Playfair as Gil, the son of Gaston and Anna Cathcart as Dizzy the granddaughter of Lady Tremaine from ‘Cinderella’.

With the exception of the adult villains, it is reported that the full casts from both previous films will return, including Sarah Jeffrey whose Audrey was absent from the second movie.

Disney hasn’t announced a premiere date beyond summer 2019.

Source: TV Line