Darren Criss Joins Disney's Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story Among Six New Cast Additions
Darren Criss is heading to Disney's Descendants universe. The actor is one of six new additions to Hidden Heroes: A Descendants Story, a Disney Channel and Disney+ movie set inside the franchise's world of fairy-tale offspring, this time turning the spotlight on sidekicks.
Variety reported the new cast members on 18 August 2026. Criss will play Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. Sherry Cola takes on Yzma, the villainess from The Emperor's New Groove, with Hugo Ateo as her henchman Kronk. James Monroe Iglehart steps into the role of Genie from Aladdin. Sean Yves Lessard will play Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, and Dan Bakkedahl rounds out the group as Yen Sid, the sorcerer from Fantasia's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment (Variety).
The film's logline describes a secret training facility called Sidekick Academy, where descendants of legendary sidekicks learn to become partners to heroes. Tamara Chestna, Eydie Faye and Emma Fletcher wrote the script, with Jude Weng directing. Executive producers are Mark Ordesky, Jane Fleming, Gary Marsh and Tamara Chestna. Disney Kids & Family produces.
Disney officially greenlit the movie on 7 August 2026, announcing it simultaneously on the Disney+ press site and through D23, Disney's official fan club. That earlier announcement named the film's core cast: Dior Goodjohn, Momona Tamada, Jacob Rodriguez, Eva Fossaceca Smedley and Harry Jones as stars, with Malachi Barton, Liamani Segura and Dara Reneé also in the ensemble. D23 additionally listed Rhys Dawkins, Connor Wong and Kyra Wong as cast members (Disney+ press site; D23).
The Descendants franchise has been running for over a decade. The first film premiered in 2015, and the fifth entry, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, debuted on 16 July 2026. Beyond the feature films, the franchise spans an animated spinoff and a prequel series.
For fans, Hidden Heroes shifts the franchise's centre of gravity. Instead of focusing on the children of villains, the story trains its lens on the characters who stand one step behind the hero — the sidekicks. Six beloved supporting characters from across the Disney animation catalogue now have actors attached, bringing recognisable faces to roles that originated as drawings.
