Disney Channel has announced that “Liv and Maddie” star Dove Cameron has been cast as Maleficent’s daughter Mal in “Descendants,” a contemporary live-action adventure-comedy that taps into Disney’s heritage characters notably its most evil villains.
“Dove is a multi-dimensional actress whose undeniable charisma allows her to conjure the many facects of Mal, the sharp-edged yet vulnerable daughter of one of Disney’s most wicked villains,” said Disney Channel Worldwide Senior VP Judy Taylor.
Disney’s “Descendants” is scheduled to begin production next spring for a 2015 premiere on Disney Channel. Kenny Ortega, the Emmy Award-winning director and choreographer of Disney’s record-setting “High School Musical” TV movies and feature film, returns to Disney Channel to direct “Descendants.”
The project is described as follows:
In a present day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic “Beauty and the Beast”) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters. These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes, including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?
The script was written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott (creators and Emmy Award and WGA Award nominees for their writing on “The Starter Wife,” also writers of “Runaway Bride” and on “Desperate Housewives”).
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
