'Secret Society Of Second-Born Royals' Trailer: Disney+ Gives Us Royal Teen X-Men

So far, Disney+ hasn't made much of a splash with their original movies. The remake of Lady and the Tramp, the holiday comedy Noelle, the nature adventure Togo, the family comedy Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, and the adaptation of Stargirl (not the DC Comics character) all came and went without much pomp and circumstance. Now, it looks like another Disney+ original movie is likely to follow in their footsteps.

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is not only a mouthful of a title, but the premise sounds like a lot of nonsense too. The Disney+ original movie focuses on a group of teens who are the second-born children of royal lineage. That means they don't get to become kings and queens, but are relegated to only being princes and princesses. But what they come to find out is that being second-born just might be a better, albeit much more dangerous, as they are given superpowers and the responsibility of protecting the world from anyone who might threaten it.

Based on the premise, you would think Secret Society of Second-Born Royals was based on a young adult book series, but it's actually an original story written by Austin Winsberg (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist), Alex Litvak (Masters of the Universe) and Andrew Green (Hannah Montana), with the latter two writing the script. Winsberg also executive produces with Zanne Devine (I, Tonya) and Mike Karz (Valentine's Day) while Anna Mastro (Marvel's Runaways) directs.

This movie is so perplexing, because on one level, it looks far less expensive than big budget superhero movies out there today. But it also doesn't look as cheap as network television or even cable. Maybe it's because everything looks so polished and clear that everything feels painfully artificial, making it all seem a little hokey. It has the vibe of a Freeform series with the budget of a Netflix show. Also, Skylar Astin is old enough to be a teacher now? Get outta here.

The cast includes Peyton Elizabeth (Andi Mack) as the lead Sam, Olivia Deeble (Home and Away) as Roxana, Niles Fitch (This Is Us) as Tuma, Faly Rakotohavana (Raven's Home) as Matteo, Isabella Blake Thomas (Once Upon a Time) as January, Elodie Yung (Daredevil) as Queen Catharine, Ashley Liao (Always By Me Maybe) as Eleanor, Noah Lomax (Trial By Fire) as Mike, and Greg Bryk (Handmaid's Tale) as the villain Inmate 34.

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals follows Sam, a rebellious teenage royal who unknowingly develops superpowers from a genetic trait attributed only to second-borns of royal lineage. Second-in-line to the throne of the kingdom of Illyria, Sam constantly questions what it means to be royal and wants to create her own legacy. Unlike Sam's picture-perfect older sister Eleanor who will become the next queen, Sam would rather rock out with her bandmate and best friend Mike at an illegal protest or ditch a royal engagement for a wild night out.

Fed up with her daughter's misbehavior, Queen Catherine sends Sam to a summer boarding school where she and four other second-born royals – Tuma, Roxana, January and Matteo – discover they have unique super-human abilities and are invited to join a secret society with a longstanding tradition of covertly keeping the peace. With a new sense of purpose and a little help from their Secret Society instructor James, Sam and her fellow royal recruits must learn to harness their newfound powers and work together as a team before they can save the world.

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals arrives on Disney+ on July 17, 2020.