Brandy returns as Cinderella for Disney's Descendants spin-off

(Image credit: Disney)

Brandy is set to reprise the role of Cinderella for the first time in nearly 25 years for Disney's The Pocketwatch (working title), a musical-movie sequel to the Descendants franchise.

The actor made history in 1997 as the first Black performer to play Cinderella on screen, starring as the iconic Disney princess in Robert Iscove's Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. The all-star cast included Jason Alexander, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Natalie Desselle, Whoopi Goldberg, and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother. The film is widely regarded as a Disney classic, often credited with paving the way for movies like The Princess and the Frog and princesses like Tiana.

The popular Descendants film series, directed by High School Musical helmer Kenny Ortega, follows the teenage children of famous Disney villains such as Maleficent, Ursula, and the Queen of Hearts. The sequel, directed by Jennifer Phang (The Flight Attendant) finds polar opposites Red (Kylie Cantrall) and Chloe (Malia Baker) crossing paths at a momentous celebration in the mystical land of Auradon when unexpected chaos breaks out. In order to prevent an impending coup, they must join forces to travel back in time, via a magical pocket watch created by the Mad Hatter’s son, to stop an event that would lead to grave consequences. Rita Ora is set to play the Queen of Hearts.

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.