Inside Descendants: The Rise of Red’s Emotional Tribute to Cameron Boyce
The following article contains mild spoilers from Descendants: The Rise of Red. Haven’t watched yet? You know what to do.
Now streaming on Disney+, the fourth feature-length film in the Descendants series propels the franchise forward with a host of new characters, songs and storylines.
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But it was also important for everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, to honor an invaluable member of the series’ legacy — the late, great Cameron Boyce, who died unexpectedly in July 2019, just one month before the premiere of Descendants 3.
“We always knew that we wanted to pay some kind of tribute,” executive producer Suzanne Todd tells TVLine of Boyce, who played Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil. “We actually went through a number of different incarnations of what we thought was the best way to do it, because it’s very delicate and very important.”
What they ultimately settled on was a simple but effective moment in the principal’s office of Auradon Prep between Uma (China Anne McClain) and Fairy Godmother (Melanie Paxson). With tears in her eyes, Uma explains that giving a second chance to another misunderstood villain’s kid — in this case, Red (Kylie Cantrall), the Princess of Wonderland — is exactly what Carlos would have wanted, all the while gazing at a portrait of her late friend.
“We, the filmmakers, had some ideas about what we wanted to do, but we also had a lot of conversations with China Anne and her family about it,” Todd explains. “She landed that moment so beautifully. And I have to say that the story point we ended up going with, about inclusion and ending this segregation in Carlos’ name, is so on point for our universe and what we’re trying to promote. The idea that we were attributing that to Carlos’ character felt 100% real and authentic.”
Filming the scene was understandably “very emotional” for McClain, who close friendship with Boyce predated their work in the Descendants franchise; they met as children on the set of 2010’s Grown Ups.
“When we finished the scene that day, China Anne called me to her trailer and asked if she could take the photos of Cameron home with her,” Todd recalls. “And I, of course, burst into tears. It makes me want to cry even thinking about that moment. And she and I went together to the set and took the photos off the wall, and she got in her car and drove home with them.”
The Rise of Red also briefly mentions Carlos’ companions from the previous films — Uma explains that Mal (Dove Cameron), Ben (Mitchell Hope), Evie (Sofia Carson) and Jay (Booboo Stewart) are sailing off to distant lands, looking to recruit more villainous offspring — but giving Carlos his own spotlight moment was a top priority.
“He’s such an important part of the franchise that there was never a question that we were going to do something,” Todd says. “We just wanted to make sure that we did the most respectful thing we could, and I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.”
Descendants fans, let’s hear it: How moved were you by The Rise of Red‘s Carlos/Boyce moment? And what did you think of the fourth movie overall? Grade it below, then drop a comment with your full review.
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