Photo: Disney/Quantrell Colbert
We were joined back the Popternative show by Mars who plays Young Maleficent in the latest Descendants film, Descendants: The Rise of Red, which premiered July 12 on Disney+. The music-driven franchise features seven new original songs, as well as reprises of the Descendants 2 hit “What’s My Name” and “So This is Love” from the animated classic Cinderella.
The film follows Red, played by Kylie Cantrall (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), the rebellious daughter of the Queen of Hearts, and Chloe, Cinderella’s perfectionist daughter, played by Malia Baker (The Baby-Sitters Club). When the tyrannical Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, polar opposites Red and Chloe must join forces and travel back in time to undo the traumatic event that set Red’s mother down her villainous path.
The cast also includes Brandy, Rita Ora, Dara Reneé (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), Ruby Rose Turner (Coop and Cami Ask the World), Morgan Dudley (A Tourist’s Guide to Love), China Anne McClain (Black Lightning), Joshua Colley (Senior Year), Peder Lindell (Hidden Falls), Grace Narducci (My Missing Sister), Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso), Paolo Montalban (Cinderella), Leonardo Nam (Westworld), and Anthony Pyatt (Will Trent).
In our interview, Mars discusses preparing to portray a younger version of a character who many are already familiar with, working with their fellow cast members, and the incredible Descendants fanbase including the many The Rise of Red-dedicated TikTok videos.
Watch the full conversation with Mars below.
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