The 'HSM' & 'Descendants' Casts Are More Similar Than You Think They Are

You wouldn’t think there would really be any similarities between Descendants and High School Musical — besides Kenny Ortega, of course — but there are.

In a new interview with People’s Choice, the famed director opened up about how the similarities aren’t in the story, but in the casts.

“I think both projects, the actors that we’ve selected to play these roles, have a deep connection with each other, they are family,” Kenny says. “There is a chemistry that they share and I think that comes across.”

He continues, “It’s something that lives underneath the dialog, underneath the music, underneath the dancing. You feel something when you look at these people together on a screen and I think that our fans connect with that. I think there’s where the similarities are.”

It’s magic!

“I also think the similarities also exist in the casting choices that we made…all of the actors that we cast in High School Musical share something in common with the cast of Descendants and Descendants 2,” Kenny adds. “That is their sincerity, their enthusiasm, and their desire to be there and to make it special.”

Giving us all the feels!

Descendants 2 premieres TONIGHT @ 8PM ET/PT on ABC, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Freeform and Lifetime.