Disney Channel’s glory days of the 2000s are having a moment. Kids who grew up in the era of Disney’s cable kingdom never thought they’d see Miley Cyrus wear her Hannah Montana hairstyle again, or witness the Jonas Brothers return to Camp Rock, but both of those pipe dreams came true in the past year alone. Following these and other nostalgia-focused revival projects, another Disney Channel mainstay might be returning.
Disney is developing Halloweentown 5, bringing back the Disney Channel Original Movie series whose most recent film was 20 years ago. In this story, we’ll share what we know about the project so far, and just as crucially, what hasn’t been announced. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disney ride replacements that are better than their predecessors and the Disney CEO’s update on Disney World’s expansion.
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Halloweentown 5 in the Works
Disney Channel’s Halloweentown movie series was a staple of the network’s October programming in the late ’90s through the 2000s. The films follow teenager Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) as she discovers she belongs to a family of witches, revealed to her by her Grandma Aggie (the late Debbie Reynolds). Her lineage traces to a hidden world called Halloweentown, a place whose citizens are skeletons, wizards, and monsters, and where it always feels like All Hallows’ Eve.
The franchise spawned 4 movies: Halloweentown (1998), Halloweentown 2: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001), Halloweentown High (2004), and Return to Halloweentown (2006).
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Halloweentown 5 is “in early development” for Disney Channel and Disney+, according to The Wrap. The script for the fifth movie is being written by Lily Houghton (Forbidden Fruits) and Ryan Koehn (Gossip Girl).
Story details for Halloweentown 5 have not been shared, nor has any casting. Sarah Paxton replaced Brown as Marnie in the fourth film. Brown has been vocal about wanting to reprise the role again, telling E! in 2024, “Disney knows I’m down to do another one. I’ve been telling fans to tell Disney that they would watch it if it came out. The ball is in Disney’s court.”
Last year, we visited where the original Halloweentown was filmed in Oregon. See our report from that trip.
It’s important to note that Halloweentown 5 hasn’t been formally announced by Disney. Being “in early development” means the story is being fleshed out, not that the production is full speed ahead just yet. That being said, the recent resurgence of Disney Channel revivals is an indication that Halloweentown 5 could definitely make sense for the studio’s current priorities.
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The potential fifth Halloweentown movie would be the latest in a growing list of 2000s-era Disney Channel revival projects. Just in 2026, Disney has produced a Hannah Montana anniversary special, Camp Rock 3, a third season of a Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series, and new episodes of Phineas and Ferb. Many original cast members have been game to return to their Disney roots years later, including Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Vincent Martella, and Ashley Tisdale.
Those recent efforts follow the meta High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, which launched with Disney+ in 2019. The show catapulted the careers of Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett, and ran for 4 seasons, the last of which involved original High School Musical cast members Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Kaycee Stroh, and Alyson Reed filming (a fictional) High School Musical 4.
A revival of Lizzie McGuire, starring Hilary Duff reprising the titular role, filmed 2 episodes in 2019 before being canceled over creative issues.
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