*Brandy, Rita Ora and Leonardo Nam are heading deeper into Wonderland—and this time, the biggest threat may be the past itself. The fifth installment in the blockbuster Descendants franchise, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, picks up after Red and Chloe seemingly secured the perfect ending. The Queen of Hearts is now kinder, Cinderella is safe, and Wonderland appears to be at peace.
There is only one problem: changing history created an unexpected new villain.
Maddox Hatter, played by Leonardo Nam, emerges from the altered timeline and captures the Queen of Hearts. Red and Chloe must then join forces with Red’s newly introduced sister Pink, Luisa Madrigal’s son Luis and Maddox’s son Max to rescue the Queen and save Wonderland.
During an interview with EURweb, the cast reflected on the story’s larger warning about regret—and the danger of becoming so consumed with correcting yesterday that you stop living today.
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For Brandy, who reprises her iconic role as Cinderella, the answer begins with accepting every chapter of your journey.
“I don’t think you should have regrets,” she said. “I think you should appreciate where you’ve been and how where you’ve been has placed you into where you are now.”
Rita Ora, returning as the Queen of Hearts, added that the past may be impossible to rewrite, but the future remains open.
“That’s why they say don’t live in the past,” Ora explained. “You can’t rewrite the past, but you can definitely write your future.”
Nam’s Maddox represents the darker side of that lesson. The character becomes fixated on repairing what has been broken, only to lose himself in the process.
“If you start to tinker with things in the past, you’re always going to be obsessed with that,” Nam said. “You’re always going to constantly want to change something and never really live in the present.”
While Maddox serves as the film’s central antagonist, Nam does not view him as a traditional villain.
“I can’t see him as a villain because he has passion, and there is something that has been broken or something that’s been scarred,” he explained. “Maddox, I think, doesn’t see himself as a villain. He is trying to live his best life. Frankly, it just comes out like this.”
The franchise also continues to complicate the familiar boundaries between good and evil. Brandy said she appreciates that Cinderella has maintained the qualities audiences have loved for decades.
“I am pleased with the fact that Cinderella has kept her kindness, her goodness, her spirit,” she said. “She’s kept herself.”
Ora, meanwhile, has enjoyed exploring the unpredictable Queen of Hearts beyond her fearsome reputation, particularly as a mother.
“Finding that kindness of the Queen and seeing her more in her mother bag is really cool,” Ora said, noting that the character is now doing whatever is necessary to help her children.
The film also stars Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, Paolo Montalban, Brendon Tremblay and Alexandro Byrd.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland premiered Thursday, July 16, on Disney Channel and is now streaming on Disney+.
The film also stars Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, Paolo Montalban, Brendon Tremblay, and Alexandro Byrd.
Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-bred entertainment journalist, producer, and host. Follow her socials @StilettoJill or visit JillMunroe.com. Catch her live M-Thu on KBLA Talk 1580 from 6PM to 7PM.
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