Two years after the premiere of the Disney Channel Original sequel Descendants 3, the network will be premiering an all-new animated special called Descendants: The Royal Wedding, which is set to bring the Descendants cast members back again. The special will air this summer on Disney Channel, and it will honor its late star Cameron Boyce in a special way.
Set after the events of 2019’s Descendants 3, Descendants: The Royal Wedding is an animated special that will invite fans to Mal and King Ben’s wedding. Notably absent will be Carlos, the character played by the late Cameron Boyce, who died due to epilepsy complications in the summer of 2019, just before the third Descendants film premiered. However, Boyce's character will have a presence in the storyline, which will acknowledge Carlos in some way that's likely being kept somewhat hidden from fans.
Even beyond the in-universe shout out to Carlos, The Descendants: The Royal Wedding will reportedly honor Cameron Boyce's memory directly during the telecast. That will likely take the form of an "In Memory Of" message before and/or after the animated special. Of course, it's possible the one-off could find other ways to pay tribute to the gone-too-soon actor, such as naming a new character Cameron or something along those lines.
Cameron Boyce's death shocked fans and celebrities around the world nearly two years ago. Tributes poured in for days after it was announced, from Boyce’s former Jessie costar Skai Jackson paying tribute on Dancing With the Stars to Disney Channel’s heartwarming tribute after the Descendants 3 premiere and more.
To get audiences ready for the social event of the year, Disney released a line of Royal Wedding dolls featuring Mal and Ben, as well as animated shorts with the characters getting prepared for the big event. Lending their voices to reprise their popular roles include stars such as Dove Cameron as Mal, Sofia Carson as Evie, Booboo Stewart as Jay, Mitchell Hope as Ben, Sarah Jeffery as Audrey, Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother, China Anne McClain as Uma, Jedidiah Goodacre as Chad, Anna Cathcart as Dizzy, Dan Payne as Beast, Bobby Moynihan as Dude the Dog and Cheyenne Jackson as Hades.
In a statement, Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Branded Television, said that with the animated special, he hopes to bridge audience with even more stories within the Descendants franchise. It's definitely a shame that Cameron Boyce isn't still around to watch the franchise continue growing, as we're sure he'd be a big part of that growth.
Descendants, Descendants 2 and Descendants 3 all ranked the #1 cable movie among kids and tweens for 2015, 2017 and 2019, respectively, with all three soundtracks reaching #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack chart. The Descendants and Descendants 2 soundtracks are gold-certified.
Descendants: The Royal Wedding will be written by Sara Parriott, Josann McGibbon, and Ricky Roxburgh, and is based on the Descendants movies created by Parriott and McGibbon, which are themselves based on the Isle of the Lost book series by Melissa De La Cruz. The special will be produced by Le Cube, with Salvador Simó set to direct. Stay tuned for premiere date updates!
