'Descendants: Royal Wedding': Details on the Fourth Disney Movie

Disney Channel fans are headed back to Auradon! The network officially announced that a fourth Descendants flick is coming soon.

The first Descendants film premiered in July 2015. Along with its two existing sequels, the Disney Channel Original Movie spawned a major franchise with original songs and major star power. Starring Dove Cameron, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson, the late Cameron Boyce, Mitchell Hope, Anna Cathcart, Sarah Jeffery, China Anne McClain, Melanie Paxson, Jedidiah Goodacre, Dan Payne, Bobby Moynihan, Cheyenne Jackson and more, the movies told the stories of the teenage kids of Disney’s most feared villains. After the death of Cameron in July 2019 and the release of the third movie, which premiered in August 2019, fans have wondered whether or not another film would be released. Now, they finally have their answer.

“I may or may not have heard something about something that I might be doing involving the franchise. I would never say that it’s over, but I also would never confirm anything at this time. I would be open to doing more,” Dove told DigitalSpy in September 2019. “To be completely honest, as an actor who is not beholden to Disney, I would say that I think it would be smart for them to capitalize on the brand that they created. I think it would be smart to do maybe a spinoff with maybe the younger characters. I know that Disney has been very specific about saying that this world doesn’t really ever end, it goes on forever and the possibilities are endless.”

Well get ready, Descendants fans, because Dove will be reprising her role as Mal for the upcoming animated flick. Titled Descendants: The Royal Wedding, the fourth installment in the series will give fans an inside look at the purple-haired heroine and King Ben’s wedding.

“Descendants introduced a fantasy world of stories and characters anchored in Disney mythology,” President and Chief Creative Officer of Disney Branded Television Gary Marsh said in a press release. “For the past six years, it captivated young viewers and grew to become among Disney Channel’s biggest entertainment franchises ever. It had the benefit of immensely talented stars, who we now welcome back for this animated Royal Wedding special that will bridge the audience to what we hope will be a new chapter of compelling Descendants stories and characters yet to come.”

Scroll through our gallery for everything we know about the new Descendants movie so far!

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The Cast

The original Descendants cast will all be reprising their roles. “The absence of the character Carlos, played by the late Cameron Boyce, will be acknowledged in the storyline and Boyce’s memory will be honored in the telecast,” Disney Channel said in a statement.

“They don’t bring back his character but he is honored,” Sofia told Zach Sang Show in April 2021. “It is touched on … Fans, ever since Descendants 3 have been asking for another chapter, and I think this felt like the right way to do it.”

Filming Without Cameron

“Our fans are just the most extraordinary in the world and they love this franchise, and it means so much to them, so this is really dedicated to them and it’s an animated special,” Sofia told Entertainment Tonight in March 2021. “As you can imagine how incredibly difficult it was for us to do this without Cam. We just hope that when people watch this, they feel happy and they feel connected to the characters and of course, to our Cam.”

When chatting with the Zach Sang Show in April 2021, she added, “I honestly couldn’t have imagined doing a live-action without him … You have no idea [how hard it was]. Yeah, it was tough.”

The Plot

Descendants fans will watch Mal and King Ben finally tie the knot after their magical proposal in the third movie. “This is an animation, like an animated special,” Sofia explained during an interview with the Zach Sang Show in April 2021. ” There was an animated series for Descendants called Wicked World, and Disney wanted to do kind of one last chapter and it’s the wedding special.”

“Descendants: The Royal Wedding invites viewers to Auradon’s most anticipated social soiree — Mal and King Ben’s wedding,” Disney’s official description reads. “Happily ever after continues for Auradon’s power couple as they prepare to say “I do” at an epic celebration with their friends and family, but Hades threatens to ruin it all.”