Descendants: The Rise of Red star China Anne McClain reflected on her friend and former co-star, the late Cameron Boyce , saying the Disney actor would have been “really excited” about the film franchise’s trajectory. “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 [the 2015 original],” McClain told People in a new interview . The actress, who reprises her role as Uma (now as principal of Auradon Prep), said the making of the fourth installment — released earlier this summer on Disney+ and marking the first film to not feature Boyce — reminded her of shooting the first Descendants .
“[The new cast in The Rise of Red ] 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,” she said. McClain said her and Boyce’s similar background as child Disney stars ( A.
N.T. Farm and Jessie , respectively) would have brought forth a feeling of pride, given that the story continued with a young ensemble.
“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 — so I think that it would’ve meant a lot to him to see the baton passed on,” she concluded. Speaking previously to the outlet in May, McClain said she was initially h.