Wicked Wonderland’ And New EP

Kylie Cantrall “Valley Girl Problems”

Courtesy of Universal Music Group

Actress and pop star Kylie Cantrall is having a summer to remember. Cantrall stars in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, which premieres Thursday, July 16 on the Disney Channel and will be available on Disney+ Friday. Plus, her new EP, Valley Girl Problems, will be available everywhere July 24th.

Wicked Wonderland is the highly-anticipated sequel to Disney’s 2024 hit movie Descendants: The Rise of Red. Cantrall, now 21, returns as “Red,” the daughter of the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora). The latest installment features Red and company navigating some repercussions caused by time traveling in the first film.

There was less pressure in making the second Descendants project for Kylie, who found herself more comfortable in the driver’s seat this time around.

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“I definitely think looking back at the first film, everything was happening for the first time, and I was stepping into such a beloved franchise, which already is pretty daunting because of how beloved it is, and I of course felt a responsibility to do it justice, even though this is a different story,” Cantrall told me.

“And I think with Red, since there’s never been a daughter of the Queen of Hearts, I kind of had the liberty to take it in whatever direction I felt like made sense, but I didn’t want to let anyone down, and I did feel a sense of pressure, and especially being the lead and not only doing the character justice, but also being a role model on set and being a leader on set, and I think that’s something I really embraced even more on Wicked Wonderland.

“This film, we have an incredible cast of newcomers who I feel lucky enough to have been able to kind of pave the way [for] and show them things and run lines with them in the green room and go over [choreography] on the weekends. It was fun to kind of step up and and be that for them this go around.”

The cast and crew of Wicked Wonderland wanted to make sure the film expanded on the first movie.

“Returning for Wicked Wonderland, it was like we definitely made our mark with Rise of Red, and I really feel confident that we kind of took things to another level (with Wicked Wonderland) and just expanded even more,” the LA native said. “The dance numbers are over the top. The costumes are bigger and better. The wigs are laid. So I’m excited for everyone to see how we take it up a notch.”

Last year, in conjunction with Disney’s Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour, Cantrall performed at 40 arenas across the US.

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“It was crazy. I mean, there’s nothing like it when you go into an arena and it’s huge and you just see swarms of people. It feels like it never ends, it’s just electric,” Kylie stated. “And hearing people sing the songs and hearing them scream, it just gave me so much life.

“I remember I would come off stage and be so tired because I was like, ‘Whoa!’ I feel like I just get this crazy boost of energy from the crowd, and then by the end of it, I’m like, ‘Whoa! I’m so depleted. I’m just going to go on the bus and sleep for 14 hours.’ And then we do it again, and it’s like this crazy adrenaline high, but it was so much fun, and I can’t wait to tour again.”

Will we be seeing the Descendants and Zombies franchises colliding onscreen anytime soon? Cantrall doesn’t rule it out.

“Oh, that would be cool, a little crossover moment,” Kylie said. “I mean, I wouldn’t put it past Disney. They love a crossover.”

Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim, breakout stars from the Zombies franchise, are a north star to where Cantrall’s career could soon be headed.

“They’re both like Disney legends at this point, and you know Meg is so sweet and gracious, and I think it’s cool seeing how they’ve kind of led this new generation of up and comers, and I definitely feel like I look up to them, and seeing how they’ve taken their careers above and beyond, and transitioned from the Disney platform to expanding, and Meg’s on Broadway (Moulin Rouge), and Milo’s a movie star (2028’s live action Tangled). It’s so cool to see how Disney really is a launching pad, and I definitely feel that way,” Kyle said. “I feel very grateful for this platform.”

As Meg and Milo’s careers outside the Zombies franchise developed, the pair took a lesser role in front of the camera and a bigger role behind it with 2025’s Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires. The thought of adding a behind-the-scenes role seems to interest Kylie.

“I think that’s the cool thing about this industry. I feel like there’s so many outlets and so many different routes you can take, and I’m someone who I kind of feel like there’s no ceiling. I kind of want to do it all,” she stated. “I want to direct and produce, and I definitely see myself doing the pop star thing for a long time. But I think that there is a world where I can kind of get into the more behind the scenes aspect. So that would be cool. If they asked me to produce a Descendants [movie] I’d be open to it for sure.”

Earlier this year, Kylie announced her signing to Republic Records in partnership with APG and Heroine Music. Her new EP was produced by Tricky Stewart (Rihanna, Tyla) and written alongside Tayla Parx.

“They’re legends, and Tricky is someone who I’ve considered the goat forever, and he’s produced the most iconic songs from Umbrella to Single Ladies to Obsessed by Mariah [Carey],” Cantrall said. “So the chance that I got to get in the studio with him, we instantly clicked, and I feel like he and I just speak the same language when it comes to music. He just gets the R and B, landing it with pop, and having those bits of nostalgia, but still modernizing it and doing it in our own way.

“I just feel like it was the perfect combination, and I really got to get introspective and a little more vulnerable with this project than I ever have in the past, but it helps going through things in real life because it definitely inspires the art.”

Cantrall’s first Disney project was Gabby Duran & the Unsittables, which premiered on the Disney Channel in 2019.

“Gabby was kind of my start. I booked Gabby when I was 12 years old, and I just remember doing so many auditions and rounds and rounds,” Kylie recalled. “They would call me back, I’d come in and read again, and then I wouldn’t hear from Disney for a few weeks, and then they’d call me and be like, ‘We want you to read again.’

“So I just did so many auditions, and then finally I got the call that I booked it, and it was just so rewarding because I heard a lot of nos in the beginning. I think when you’re starting off, it’s a lot of rejection, but I was so happy when I booked the role, and it was such a fun kind of way to grow up on that set, and there was a lot of cool stunts and slime and alien props, and the VFX were really cool. So I loved it.”

Kylie credits the values her parents instilled in her and support from family and friends as what helped her be persistent, motivated and unwilling to quit early in her career before doors opened up for her.

“I mean, it’s really just my own belief, my own self motivation. But I also do think I have to credit my parents who are also in the industry, and I think they they never really sold me any false expectations,” Cantrall said. “It was always just like you need to work hard and you need to be the one that’ steering the ship. And the amount of time you put in, the effort you put in, that’s going to be rewarded.

“So it’s really just like, how much do you want to do this? And I was like, ‘Okay, well, I want to pursue this, and no matter how hard it is.’ And I think they were just always supportive, and my friends as well. I think they have been really supportive throughout everything. But you really just got to have that own self motivation and belief, even when it’s hard to feel that way sometimes.”