‘The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen’ Gets Disney Greenlight; Raven-Symoné & Adrienne Bailon To Return For Latest Franchise Installment

The Cheetah Girls are returning to the small screen. The latest installment in the franchise, The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen, has been greenlit for for Disney Channel and Disney+.

via: EW

Disney Channel and Disney+ have officially given the green light to a long-awaited Cheetah Girls franchise follow-up, Entertainment Weekly can confirm. The upcoming film, titled The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen, comes from executive producers Debra Martin (who exec-produced the first three Cheetah Girls movies) and Raven-Symoné, who will pull double duty as she reprises her role as Galleria “Bubbles” Garibaldi.

But Galleria isn’t the only Cheetah making her return. Adrienne Bailon will reprise her role as Chanel “Chuchie” Simmons, alongside Lynn Whitfield and Lori Alter as Dorothea Garibaldi and Juanita Simmons. Sabrina Bryan will make a special appearance as Dorinda “Do” Thomas.

The iconic characters will return to usher in a new group of teen girls making their mark on the musical world, including Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Leah Sava’ Jeffries as Galleria’s daughter Faith; Carmen Sanchez as Chanel’s sister Dior; Kaileen Chang as Ruby; and Sophie Lennon as Brooklyn.

The four will be joined by newcomer Kamogelo Ramashala, a South African actor discovered during Disney’s global open casting call; she’ll play Kendi.

Per a synopsis, the story will follow Galleria and Chanel as they take daughters Faith and Dior, along with their two friends, to Africa to volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary. “Along the way, these four teen girls test their friendship, find their voice, and discover the true Cheetah spirit as they save the preserve and ultimately take the stage as the new Cheetah Girls,” the synopsis says.

“The Cheetah Girls has always been about friendship, music, and empowering young people to use their voice,” Ayo Davis, president of Disney Kids & Family, said in a statement. “That spirit connected deeply with a generation of fans, and it still resonates today. Bringing this dynamic new group of young stars to the franchise allows us to continue that legacy for a new era of kids and families.”

Raven-Symoné also celebrated the news with an Instagram post that showed her “walking to set” for the upcoming film in South Africa.

“ It’s happening, and it’s CHEETAHLISHIOUS!” she wrote.

The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen will be directed and co-produced by Bille Woodruff, with a screenplay written by Kara Holden, Sarah Watson, and Deborah Swisher. Bailon also serves as a co-producer.

The movie is produced by Disney Kids & Family and features choreography by Kyle Hanagami.

The Cheetah Girls film franchise, based on the book series by Deborah Gregory, is one of the most popular Disney Channel Original Movie properties.

The first installment premiered on Disney Channel in 2003 to great success, becoming the highest-rated movie on broadcast or cable, according to Nielsen Media Research Live+7 reports. Cheetah Girls 2 followed that up in 2006 by becoming the highest-rated movie on broadcast or cable during 2006 with kids 6-11, kids 9-14, girls 6-11, and girls 9-14. A controversial threequel, The Cheetah Girls: One World — the first and only film not to feature Raven-Symoné as part of the cast — became No. 1 across all broadcast and cable for the week it premiered in 2008 with kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14.

The franchise is known for helping launch the trend of Disney Channel original musicals, which spawned franchises such as High School Musical, Camp Rock, and Descendants.