Rita Ora channels her inner villain in the new Disney movie.

By Katelyn Mensah

Published: Thursday, 11 July 2024 at 14:08 PM


Rita Ora has returned to the silver screen once more and this time, she stars as the Queen of Hearts in Disney’s Descendants: The Rise of Red.

In the movie, which follows from the previous three Descendants films, fans are introduced to Red, the rebellious daughter of the Queen of Hearts, who has a decades-long grudge against Auradon and her former best friend Cinderella, played by the talented Brandy.

When Red is invited to study at Auradon, a light bulb goes off – and she seeks revenge and incites a coup.

As with any Disney musical, there is singing, dancing and a showcase of talent like no other, and when it came to stepping into the role – Ora received some advice from former Descendants star Dove Cameron.

Many will remember Cameron from her role as Mal, the daughter of Maleficent, in the first three films, and she helped Ora discover her true villain in preparation for the movie.

Rita Ora and Brandy stood opposite each other. Rita is wearing a red and black outfit like Brandy is wearing a light blue outfit.
Rita Ora and Brandy.
Disney/Quantrell Colbert

“I got to know Dove Cameron and China [Anne McClain], the singer exclusively told RadioTimes.com. “She [Dove] really helped me on rediscovering all the characters and figuring it out. And I just asked a lot of questions [and] I did a lot of research.”

And we can certainly expect to see the pop star continue on her journey into acting, with Ora telling RadioTimes.com that channeling the Queen of Hearts allowed her to learn “a lot”.

She explained: “Film is a big part of my next chapter of my career, and really tapping into that and picking roles that feel [are] really challenging for me. And so I did that!”

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As fans will get to see, Ora stars alongside a host of talents including her onscreen daughter Red, played by Kylie Cantrall, who Ora praised as a “superstar”.

“Kylie was just there with me every step of the way,” she said. “She was like my little sister, so we got on really well. I love her to bits. And I think you can really tell in the movie.”

Cantrall echoed a similar sentiment to working with the singer on-set. Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Cantrall said: “Rita was like the sassy big sister, giving me all the boy advice. We were always spilling a little tea on our time together. She’s so fun.”

Descendants: The Rise of Red debuts on Disney Plus on Friday 12th July. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £4.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

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