China Anne McClain believes her late friend and costar Cameron Boyce would be proud of the latest Descendants movie.
The 26-year-old actress starred alongside Boyce in the Disney franchise’s first three titles, with the last — Descendants 3 — released after his death. Boyce, who played Carlos in the films, died in July 2019 at the age of 20 after experiencing a seizure in his sleep due to epilepsy.
The fourth installment, Descendants: The Rise of Red, premiered July 12 on Disney+, featuring McClain in her role as Uma, now the Principal of Auradon Prep. Reflecting on fans’ resounding support of the movie, McClain tells PEOPLE she thinks Boyce would have been equally pleased to see the outpouring of love.
“I think that he would’ve been really excited to see it and to see how [the movie] turned out because, to be honest, none of us knew how anyone was going to receive it,” she says, noting that looking at the production experience through the eyes of the movie’s new cast members brought back memories of filming the original 2015 film. “They were so excited and they’re so young. All of them are so young that I looked at them, and I was reminded of when I stepped on set to do Descendants the first time.”
“And also how I’m sure Cameron felt, because we both were in the Disney system before we stepped into Descendants, and we’ve known each other since we were children,” she continues, referring to Boyce’s role in Jessie and hers in A.N.T. Farm. “So I think that it would’ve meant a lot to him to see the baton passed on.”
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When PEOPLE shared an exclusive first look at The Rise of Red back in May, McClain said she was nervous about returning for the movie following Boyce’s death. But ultimately, she found the experience to be “healing.”
“I was apprehensive to revisit the Descendants world at first, because losing Cam was the first heartbreak I’ve ever experienced,” she told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement at the time. “But once I saw how excited the new generation of kids were, it reminded me of myself when we created the original films.”
“Everything came together beautifully,” she continued. “There’s one scene that is very special to me, I’m sure the audience will be able to guess which one it is once they see the movie. Stepping back into Uma was very fulfilling, and healing for me.”
A touching tribute to Boyce is tucked into the new movie. In a scene in which Uma (McClain) is talking to Fairy Godmother about her plans to open the school to all VKs (or Villain Kids), she says it’s what Carlos (Boyce) would have wanted as she tearfully looks at a framed photo of his character displayed on the wall.
At the D23 convention in August, the cast of The Rise of Red opened up to PEOPLE about the indelible mark Boyce left on the franchise. Joshua Colley said the new film is “carrying on [Boyce’s] legacy,” adding: “I know he’s honored in our movie, and so we always just want to honor the work that he did and the talent that he [had].”
Ruby Rose Turner said the movies “would’ve never been the same without Cameron,” while Morgan Dudley reflected on Boyce’s powerful on-screen presence. “I don’t think that’ll ever go away,” she noted. “And that’s what made Descendants so special. So much of it was what he brought to it, just his life.”
Turner added that if Boyce was still here, “Whatever he would be deciding to do right now would be incredible and so appealing to him. And I wish he was here so we could all be able to see that.”
The Descendants film franchise is available to stream on Disney+.
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