If Disney Channel has made it their mission to make extremely cute musicals involving high school students, they have succeeded. The latest in a long list of movie series that fit the criteria is Zombies. The film premiered on the Disney Channel in 2018 and became a hit. In July 2022, Zombies 3 premieres on Disney+. it may be even bigger than the first two films.
Disney+ allows the movie to be seen by an even bigger audience. Fans of the film will be able to watch, and those who may have been interested but didn’t have the Disney Channel can now watch it on the streaming service.
Zombies 3 will definitely be must-watch TV for families and those who like happy Zombie movies. It’s been a while since Zombies 2, so if you need a little refresher on what happened in the first two films. Let us recap.
Warning: Zombies and Zombies 2 spoilers ahead.
A Power Plant Explosion Created The Zombies
At the very beginning of Zombies, Zed (Milo Manheim) and Addison (Meg Donnelly) explain how zombies came to exist in Seabrook. Someone dropped some lime drink and it mixed with a mysterious green smoke to cause zombies.
The zombies attacked the town. However, the townspeople were able to build a wall and create a barrier between the zombies and humans. 50 years later, the zombies have evolved and can now communicate and not try to eat everyone’s brain. When Zombies starts, there has been a new rule that allowed the zombies to attend high school with the human students.
The Zombies Soundtrack May Remind You Of Hamilton
Disney loves their musicals. Some of the best musical movies also happen to be Disney movies. It’s a match made in heaven. Many of the best Disney Channel movies also involve some type of singing, so it was inevitable that Zombies would involve singing. However, no one expected it to have some songs that sound like they took inspiration from Lin-Manuel Miranda. "My Year" and "I'm Winning" are the songs that may most remind you of Hamilton.
Hamilton is one of the most successful musicals of all time, so it makes sense that the team behind Zombies may have used its style when creating songs, especially for Zed’s parts. According to Billboard, the catchy pop songs make it a favorite soundtrack for many children.
A Zombie And Cheerleader Romance Are The Main Focus Of The Films
Immediately, Addison and Zed like each other. The film doesn’t waste any time because their mutual crushes become a secret romance. Not since Troy and Gabriella have I been this invested in a teen Disney Channel romance. Like the famous High School Musical couple, in the sequel, they reach a bit of a rough patch.
Zed just wants to blend in and not be seen as a monster. While Addison wants to find a place where she belongs. He wants to protect her; she wants to run free. It’s a whole mess. They break up. However, they get back together just in time for the final song and dance.
Addison’s Hair Mysteriously Glowed At The End Of Zombies 2
Zombies revealed that Addison has white hair that she hides under a wig. By the end of the film, she decides to drop the wig and embrace her natural color. It was a moment all about standing out, being true to yourself, and embracing what makes you different. It just seemed like a feature that made Addison unique and special. Zombies 2 gave the white hair a potentially deeper layer.
It linked her to a possible werewolf legend. This turned out to not be why Addison’s hair is white, but at the end of the film, her hair started glowing when she woke up. Viewers also saw what looked like potential aliens heading to Seabrook. Zombies 3 will likely investigate the hair mystery more and whether it relates to Addison being an alien. The film could head into must-watch alien films territory.
Werewolves Joined Seabrook In Zombies 2
Zombies 2 explained how werewolves also have a dark tie to Seabrook’s past. The town basically stole their land and light source. Much later, the werewolves are in Seabrook trying to find the moonstone to not die out.
They think Addison may be the key. She bonds with them, which causes Zed to get jealous. However, Addison turns out to not be the Alpha they need to survive. She does, however, unite the town and help get them the energy from the moonstone to survive. At the end of Zombies 2, it isn’t completely clear whether the werewolves are going to stay in town forever or just for a bit.
I would assume the werewolves will still be around when Zombies 3 streams.
The Z-Bands Kept The Zombies From Eating Brains
The best zombie movies don’t paint them in the best light. Zombies tries to clean up the zombie reputation. It does this by showing them with human characteristics, but there is a reason why the zombies can think and feel like humans: their Z-bands. The Z-bands stop them from going full zombie -- eating the brains of humans, super strength, etc.
In Zombies 2, the zombies learn that they can control their zombie instincts more now, even when the Z-band is off. This may mean that Zed will rely less on his Z-band in Zombies 3.
Addison Became Cheer Captain In Zombies 2
Cheerleaders are a big deal at Seabrook. This is why former-Cheer Captain Bucky (Trevor Tordjman) and the Aceys were popular bullies. Their school’s football team sucked until Zed joined, so the cheerleaders were the only star athletes in the town.
In Zombies 2, Bucky runs for president and wins. This meant that he could no longer be cheer captain. He chose to elect his cousin Addison as his replacement. Addison’s whole mission as a cheerleader, and now captain, was to allow everyone to cheer if they wanted to do it. This means that in Zombies 3, we may see a more diverse cheer squad.
The Poor Football Coach Has Had Some Life Struggles
One of the ongoing Zombies movies gags is that the football coach (Jonathan Langdon) is really going through a tough time. In the first movie, he was divorced, living with his parents, and couldn’t afford simple things. He was also on the brink of being fired. However, Zed’s success on the football team gave him some success and happiness.
In Zombies 2, he started the film off with a profiting fro-yo cart. However, the introduction of the werewolves forced him to shut it down. He reopened at the end of the movie. We expect the coach to face some new dilemmas in Zombies 3, but let’s hope he continues to bounce back.
The Zombies movies are some of the weirdest Disney Channel Original movies, but one of the really fun family movies on Disney+.
Stream Zombies 3 on Disney+ on July 15.
