Photo Credit: Disney Channel

Disney is officially returning to Halloweentown. It’s been 20 years since the last movie, 2006’s Return to Halloweentown. While no story details or casting have been revealed yet, Disney should know this long-awaited sequel will be dead on arrival if it doesn’t address and undo the franchise’s most controversial change.

Sorry, Sara Paxton, but Halloweentown 5 needs Kimberly J. Brown

For the first three Halloweentown movies, franchise protagonist Marnie Piper was played by Kimberly J. Brown. But for Return to Halloweentown, the role was recast with Sara Paxton. The decision to replace Brown with Paxton as Marnie reportedly came after contract negotiations between Disney and Brown broke down. In 2024, producer Sheri Singer claimed that Brown and her team “wanted a rich deal” Disney wouldn’t go for, leading them to go in a different direction and recast Marnie.

Unfortunately for Disney, this recasting did not go over well with the Halloweentown fandom. While some do prefer Paxton to Brown as Marnie, the majority refuse to acknowledge the existence of Return to Halloweentown, skipping it entirely during their annual rewatches.

So if Disney wants Halloweentown 5 to succeed, which it clearly does consider the announcement, Brown needs to be brought back as Marnie. She’s the actor people think of most in the role. Her return, especially after skipping Return to Halloweentown, would add not only a lot of nostalgia, but make this a must-see TV event.

But what about Paxton? Well, there is a way for Disney to have its original and recast Marnies in the same movie. Return to Halloweentown featured Paxton in a dual role, with the actor also playing a teenage Aggie Cromwell that Marnie meets when she travels back in time. Depending on the story of Halloweentown 5, Paxton could easily return for a flashback scene as a young Aggie that possibly sets up the events of the movie in the present day.

Halloweentown is one of the crown Disney Channel Original Movie franchises, right up there with High School Musical, Zenon, Camp Rock, Descendants, and Cheetah Girls. A fifth movie has been something fans have wanted for two decades now. But without Brown as Marnie, there’s absolutely no reason to do it.

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