DuringPEOPLE’sexclusive chat with Dara Reneé, theHigh School Musical: The Musical: The Seriesstar reflected on getting to work with her “role model"Brandyon Disney +’s upcoming filmDescendants: The Rise of Red.
The newest installment of theDescendantsfranchise takes viewers back to Auradon and sees the daughter of the Queen of Hearts (played by Kylie Cantrall) and the daughter of Cinderella (played by Malia Baker) teaming up to go back in time in order to prevent a disastrous event.
In addition toDescendantsalum China Anne McClain and Rita Ora, the latest installment in the franchise also includes Brandy as Cinderella and Paolo Montalban as Prince Charming. The pair are reprising their memorable roles from the iconic 1997 television adaptation ofCinderella.
Last year, when PEOPLE visited the set ofHSMTHTS, Reneé gushed about getting to work with her “role model” on the upcoming film (which began production at the beginning of 2023).
Reneé told the outlet, “I am still starstruck. I’m going to meet my role model. I literally grew up with her Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Godmother.”
Disney’s TV movieCinderellareceived 60 million viewers when it was first released on ABC and has since become a beloved classic. The movie also starredBrandy as the first Black woman to portray Cinderella on screen.
While reflecting on getting to work with Brandy onDescendants, Reneé said, “To just share the screen with such a powerful human being who has changed so many lives for the better, including my own, I just feel so blessed and I feel so grateful. I’m literally going to like hum Moesha in the dressing room.”
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Previously, in February of 2021, Brandy told PEOPLE that she’d felt “blessed” after being cast as the first Black Cinderella, adding that the movie “was ahead of its time” and “we just need to do more of it.”
She said, “I was so just blessed and humbled to be chosen to be that vessel, to be the young girl that other Black girls could see. And just girls in general, just to see that this is possible. I was just so happy to be that person.”
Brandy added, “I know for other girls that look like me — Black girls that look like me — it inspired them to dream bigger and to know that they can do anything if they put their minds to it. I know it inspired girls my age at that time.”
Similarly, while chatting with PEOPLE back in September of 2022, Reneé shared her feelings on playingFrozen’sElsa inHSMTHTS’sthird season.
She said, “To be that person and to actually have people be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you look like me. Your hair is like mine,’ it just makes my heart so happy. To play the first televised black Elsa is wild. It’s so funny, my little cousins' favorite princess is Elsa and they would always be sad because they were like, ‘I’ll never look like Elsa’ and now that I’m Elsa, they’re like, ‘I can be Elsa.'”
While chatting aboutDescendants, Reneé also discussed working with herHSMTHTS’scostar Cantrall. She said, “Kylie Cantrall is such a star and she’s such a talent and such a beautiful human being, and I’m so grateful that we got this time to really bond. She’s absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait for the world to see her as Red and as Dani.”
Cantrall likewise expressed warm feelings for Reneé, who she called her “big sister” on set. She said, “I look up to her in so many ways. Her talent is out of this world. She’s just such a natural at everything she does and it’s so incredible to watch. She’s going to be my partner in crime.”
