Multitalented actress Chandler Kinney was being modest when she said she was “lucky” to have procured and then to reprise her role of a werewolf in the record-breaking blockbuster movie franchise Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires.
Chandler Kinney began acting and dancing early
This was the confluence of mutually agreeable circumstances that she joined the Zombie kingdom. Things like this tend to happen when you possess the artistic dexterity to become an adept dancer, singer, actress, and have a black belt in martial arts. Doors of opportunity start to fling open when you start dancing at age 3, are an alum of the iconic Debbie Allen Dance Academy, and was trained in tap, jazz, and hip hop. Kinney then began acting at age 9.
The Sacramento, Calif., native exclaimed that she living “a dream” and that her heart is “overflowing” being a part of a history-making and culture-shifting Disney franchise, Zombies.
Being a part of the ‘Zombies’ franchise is a ‘dream’
“Wow, you honestly just gave me chills when you said that. It really is a dream come true, which is not hyperbolic to say, like truly,” Kinney marveled to rolling out about landing a role in a juggernaut film. “You just pointed this out. I think people do, you know, hope and dream and wish for a role like this, where you get to use so many of your different skills and experience. And I just got really, really lucky. It’s been such a whirlwind.”
Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires, which premieres on the Disney Channel on July 10 and is released on July 11, is an exhilerating and enthralling American vampire musical film. The fourth installment of the series takes the zombie-cheerleader crew to a new summer camp and introduces two new supernatural groups, the Daywakers and the Vampires. Tensions are ratcheted up among the varied monster sets. It is up to the Seabrook team to help Nova, a Daywalker, and Victor, a vampire, find their commalities amid their stark differences in order to prevent all-out war.
Chandler Kinney joined the fun in ‘Zombies 2’
Kinney joined the game-changing Zombies franchise in 2020. Zombies 2 featured her character Willa, the leader of a pack of werewolves who arrive in Seabrook to secure a coveted but hidden moonstone that is needed for their survival. Their presence disrupted the peace between the humans and the zombies, and the local town enacts an anti-monster law to exile all supernatural creatures. The mushrooming chaos also threatened in upend the burgeoning romance between Addison and Zed.
Fans have devoured up the previous iterations of the monster movie musical, yet remain ravenous for more, which brings us to Zombies 4.
“I think people really connect with these characters,” Kinney said excitedly. “They sing these songs, they learn the dances. And we just feel the love every single day, and it keeps us doing what we’re doing.”
Kinney, 24, reprises her role as Willa in Zombies 4 as a warewolf who is now close friends with her former adversaries. They were taking a hiatus from their collegiate studies and traveling to a vacation spot when things go awry with the arrival of vampires with unique powers.
Chandler Kinney gives fans snippets about ‘Zombies 4’
Kinney, who has also starred in the hit TV series “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin” and competed on “Dancing With the Stars,” said her heart is “overflowing with gratitude” from being a part of the Zombies franchise. Through her Willa character, Kinney is able to showcase the different facets of her artistry.
“She is the she’s the alpha, the leader, the one to trust she she really is so fierce, and she leads with such grace and confidence and strength and vulnerability. And I kind of like all those different facets of her and how they manifest in different ways,” Kinney told rolling out. “And I think in the (previous Zombies films) we’ve seen this harder shell that she presents with. She’s just very protective. She’s very passionate.”
Willa, unlike when she was introduced in Zombies 2, is an agent of rationality and serenity who helps to bring the different supernatural monster groups together and try to show that they can coexist peacefully without animus and distrust.
Hardcore fans of the Zombie movie franchise will find out if Willa and the other principal characters can strike a peace accord between the rival factions.
