'Zombies 4' reminded Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly to be present

UPI

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1 of 5 | From left, Meg Donnelly, Malachi Barton, Freya Skye and Milo Manheim, seen at the 2025 Disney Upfront in New York City, star in "Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
LOS ANGELES, July 7 (UPI) -- Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly say Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, on Disney Channel Thursday, reflects life lessons and how far they've come since the original 2018 movie Zombies.
The sequel finds high school sweethearts Zed (Manheim) and Addison (Donnelly) contemplating different paths the summer after their freshman year in college. Through the events of the film, they realize their friends and loved ones are most important.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Manheim, 24, and Donnelly, 25, said they related to the film's theme of being present in the moment. Zed realizes he's been neglecting Addison to focus on football, and vice versa for Addison's cheerleading.
"I wouldn't be lying if I said that I think about the fact that I'm getting older every day," Donnelly said. "I try to be as present as possible and try to tell myself that I don't have to have anything figured out."
When Zombies premiered in 2018, Donnelly already had five years of acting credits. The Disney Channel film was Manheim's first lead role, having performed in stage musicals since he was 7.
"I also feel like if you are like I need to get all this done before it's too late, then you can't enjoy the ride," Manheim said. "So I think the best thing we can do for ourselves is just be gratefully present."
Passing the torch
Before they go their separate ways, zombie Zed and alien/human hybrid Addison stumble into a feud between Vampires and Daywalkers, which closely resembles the divisions they faced between humans and zombies as teens.
The Vampires and Daywalkers are battling over a fruit grove that nourishes each of their superpowers. Sure enough, a romance blooms between Daywalker Nova (Freya Skye) and Vampire Victor (Malachi Barton).
In one of Zombie 4's new songs, Zed and Addison literally sing that it's up to Nova and Victor to carry on their message of tolerance.
"I remember looking at that lyric like, 'Oh,'" she said. "'It feels like forever since we were your age. We're passing you the torch so don't hesitate.'"
Manheim laughed at the spinoff possibilities for a Vampires film.
"We literally said 'we pass you the torch,' if it wasn't clear enough," he said.
Barton and Freya were ready to step up. Barton, 18, has been working with Disney Channel since he joined the cast of Stuck in the Middle in 2016, following several Nickelodeon projects.
Barton met Manheim and Donnelly prior to Zombies 4 through events Disney held for its young stars. He was excited to join the pair in what is Barton's first musical.
"Disney Balls were these little proms for all the homeschool kids that were on Disney that didn't get an actual prom," Barton said. "I randomly saw Meg at one of the softball games. We used to have a softball league for Stuck in the Middle."
Zombies 4 is 15-year-old Freya's first movie, after appearing in video games Dragon Quest Treasures and Final Fantasy XVI. Though she practiced ballet before, she trained in hip-hop dance and martial arts for her role as Nova.
"I was doing a couple hours every day of stunt training," Freya said. Now I feel like I've got those skills which is really cool. I feel very tough."
The Vampire clan includes Vera, played by Sway Bhatia, who previously appeared in Disney's Mighty Ducks: Game Changers series. In a separate phone interview with UPI, Sway, 17, said Donnelly and Manheim were also integral to her career.
Sway appeared on stage with Donnelly in New York when Sway was six. She met Manheim at the 2023 premiere of his Disney film Prom Pact, where he predicted she'd be cast in Zombies 4.
"I had no words when he said that," Sway said, adding that, though she still had to audition, co-starring together took them "from fan to friend and family."
Appearing in a musical also took Sway back to the beginning of her career. As a 2-year-old in Dubai, Sway danced in a Priyanka Chopra-Jonas televised concert.
"It was for, I believe, 16 and above," Sway said. "I think they just saw how excited I was to just be in that room surrounded by artists and surrounded by dancers, that they gave me the job."
Three years ago, Sway met Chopra-Jonas again at an event for South Asians in Hollywood.
"I got to show her the photo because I had it in my camera roll," Sway said. "She got emotional just thinking about how long ago it was and how I got to be in this industry so many years later."
Dance challenges
Disney-style dancing required different moves from Sway's Bollywood-style dance background. Sway added that choreographer Dondraico Johnson gave each character dance moves specific to their character.
"For Vera, I think she's such a spunky and sassy character that a lot of me was vamping out to be honest," Sway said. "You have to find that perfect medium of not too scary, slight friendliness in there but still a little bit scary."
The Zombies 4 dances included added challenges like dancing on the beach. Going from studio rehearsals to the sand was a challenge for Freya.
"I struggle carrying my towel and my beach bag down to the place I want on the beach, let alone doing full choreography," Freya said. "In the rehearsal studio we were all like, 'Yeah, we've got this. This is going to be a breeze filming.' I got there, I was sorely mistaken."
Barton said he struggled to nail his steps on the beach.
"Your feet feel like they're 10 pounds heavier than they actually are when you're on sand," Barton said. "You also can't spin around on sand."
The 'Zombies' legacy
One thing that has not changed across four Zombies films is Zed and Addison's love for each other. While another franchise might have broken Zed and Addison up, a believable plot twist for high schoolers, the conflicts in the Zombies films came from adding new monsters each film.
"The more important thing was what they were fighting for," Manheim said, which typically meant Zed and Addison "tried to unite people."
Donnelly said a couple's one or two year anniversary are the biggest hurdles, and Zed and Addison have made it through four movies over seven years.
"In Zombies 4 for sure I think they're solidified which is really cool to see," Donnelly said.
Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires streams on Disney+ Friday.