It didn’t take long for things to spiral into chaos—in the best way. “Do you know the Camp Rock 2 dance?” I asked, and before I could finish, Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly jumped in their seats. “Boom, boom, boom, boom. Camp Rock.”

“This movie is also directed by the same director,” Manheim pointed out. “Paul Hoen!”

That energy captures exactly what fans can expect from ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, the latest installment in Disney’s hit musical saga. The ZOMBIES franchise has become a monster-sized success since the first film debuted in 2018, with each movie topping the charts for kids and tweens and racking up billions of music streams. Now, the fourth film brings all the music, dance, and feel-good chaos to summer camp—with fangs.

What ZOMBIES 4 Is All About

In ZOMBIES 4, Zed and Addison’s summer road trip takes a wild turn when they end up as camp counselors caught between two rival monster factions: Daywalkers and Vampires. With the help of old friends (hi, Eliza and Willa!) and some powerful new recruits, they try to unite the supernatural squads before a bigger threat emerges.

Naturally, since this one takes place at camp, we had to ask the cast about Camp Rock 2. The debate? Should Camp Star have won the Final Jam, or was Camp Rock robbed?

Settling the Final Jam Debate

“I remember being like eight years old… I have an allegiance to Mitchie and Shane and the whole gang,” Donnelly said. “So when they lost I was like, no. But deep down in my soul, I was like, they ate. They deserved that.”

“Same,” Manheim added. “I wasn’t like a ‘do you know how hard they worked?’ guy. I was more of a player guy—like fantasy football. I just wanted this one person to do well.”

Meet the New Vampires

Beyond the dance nostalgia and Disney lore, ZOMBIES 4 also introduces two new stars to the saga: Freya Skye as Nova and Malachi Barton as Victor, a pair of fierce monsters with serious presence.

Skye and Barton were clearly having a blast together—so much so that we asked them to swap roles and introduce each other’s characters.

“Hey, I’m Malachi Barton. I play Victor in ZOMBIES 4,” Skye said in a mock voice.

“That’s not what I sound like!” Barton protested, before taking his turn: “Hello, it’s Freya Skye here. My new song ‘Gold’s Gone’ just released… My character Nova is a very adventurous, very, very tough, brave girl. She has so many fight scenes and she just embraces the power of leadership and she just loves her family.”

The two also spoke about what it meant to join such a beloved franchise.

“It means so much,” Skye said. “ZOMBIES was a franchise that, when I was younger, really inspired me… working with the people who inspired me and being surrounded by such incredible people every day was just the most incredible thing.”

“A hundred percent,” Barton added. “I think that it’s such an important message in our day and age—coming together as one group, literally no matter what. I think all people can watch this movie and relate to it in some way.”

Music, Nostalgia, and the Return of “Someday”

Of course, no ZOMBIES movie is complete without music. And fans of the original films are in for a treat: both “Someday” and “Ain’t No Doubt About It” return—with new reprises.

“When ‘Ain’t No Doubt About It’ came to us, I was like, this has the potential to be a ‘Someday,’” Manheim said. “And it totally reached that potential.”

“I think the reprise in ZOMBIES 4 is probably the most special thing out of the whole franchise,” Donnelly added. “It’s really hard [to choose], but because of everything we’ve been through, it has to be ‘Someday.’”

And yes, there’s tap dancing. “We both be tapping,” Manheim said. “It’s something we connected on in the first movie.”

“We added a little dewy tapping in ‘Someday,’ and we reached its full potential,” Donnelly said. “It just felt right for that moment.”

So what do you get when you combine summer camp, Disney hot takes, dance battles, and vampire drama? A ZOMBIES movie that goes all in—and maybe even makes you cry a little.

“This is the best interview we’ve had all day,” Manheim said. “Thank you for letting us be the weirdest.”

The Disney Channel Original Movie ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires premieres July 10 on Disney Channel, with streaming available the next day on Disney+.

Watch the full interview with the cast below.