Yahoo Finance Zombies 3 First Look: Meg Donnelly Teases Disney+ Film Is 'Bigger and Better' Than Ever
PEOPLE has the exclusive First Look trailer at Zombies 3 ahead of its July 15 release — and the Disney+ film already looks out of this world!
Following the events of the 2020 film, the third installment of the hit DCOM franchise follows the residents of Seabrook as humans, zombies and werewolves learn to co-exist with one another.
While everything seems bright for Zed (Milo Manheim) and Addison (Meg Donnelly) as they enter their senior year, things quickly go awry as they are rocked by the arrival of a group of aliens that comes to town and shakes things up.
"[This film] is something so different than [anything] we've ever done," Donnelly, 21, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
As the third film makes the move from Disney Channel to Disney+, she adds that Zombies 3 feels much more like a feature film: "The way the shots are, the music numbers, everything is just bigger and better and more mature."
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John Medland/Disney
While the film has some exciting new surprises in store, one thing fans can count on is another incredible soundtrack, including a new rendition of Zed and Addison's popular duet "Someday."
"[It was] so emotional," Donnelly says of recording the new version of the song. "The original 'Someday' I sound so young because I was 16. So I have almost a time capsule of how we progress through each year. I filmed my part on the last day of filming so I was crying all day."
That said, Donnelly teases that another duet with Manheim, 21, on the Zombies 3 soundtrack ranks as her "favorite song in the Zombies universe."
"It has very similar 'Someday' energy," she says of the new track. "I love when Zed and Addison are happy and just playing off each other and being goofy and silly. It was so much fun to film, especially with Milo."
John Medland/Disney
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In addition to Donnelly and Manheim, the upcoming film brings back Chandler Kinney as Willa, Ariel Martin as Wynter, Pearce Joza as Wyatt, Carla Jeffery as Bree, Trevor Tordjman as Bucky, Kylee Russell as Eliza, James Godfrey as Bonzo and Kingston Foster as Zoey.
The movie also adds a handful of new cast members as the extraterrestrial beings, including RuPaul as the voice The Mothership, Terry Hu as A-spen, Kyra Tantao as A-li and Matt Cornett as A-lan, the latter of whom is also set to star opposite Donnelly in the upcoming third season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
John Medland/Disney
"It was so amazing," Donnelly says about working with Cornett on both projects. "When we filmed High School Musical, most of our scenes were together so that was really cool. It was so easy and so comfortable and we actually got so much closer on the High School Musical set. It was really weird not seeing him in a blue wig, but nonetheless, it was great."
Between Zombies and HSMTMTS, Donnelly admits its "surreal" to now be part of two iconic Disney franchises. "High School Musical is the reason why I even started musical theater or acting," she says. "The fact that's even a possibility [to be part of the HSM franchise] is just wild and I'm so honored. I still don't believe it sometimes."
RELATED: Meg Donnelly Hopes Supernatural Prequel Lives Up to Fans' Expectations: 'We Know How Much It Means'
Sheryl Nields/Disney
While Donnelly teases that Zombies 3 ties up the franchise with "an amazing bow," she is always open to reprising her role as Addison in the future.
"I would love to be a part of the Zombies franchise for as long as possible," she says. "I love playing Addison and this story has changed my life."
She continues, "It's so incredible to have young kids come up and be inspired by the movie in any capacity because that was me when I was younger. I watched Disney Channel and I was so inspired. So the fact that little kids are watching Zombies and the same thing is happening for them, it's really special. There's something so magical about it."
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Zombies 3 premieres July 15 on Disney+.
