China Anne McClain thinks the late Cameron Boyce would have been proud of the latest 'Descendants' movie.
China Anne McClain has paid tribute to Cameron Boyce
The 26-year-old actress reprised her role as Uma, now the principal of Auradon Prep School in 'Descendants: The Rise of Red' and she thinks her beloved co-star - who passed away in 2019 aged just 20 after suffering a seizure in his sleep - would have got pleasure in seeing the excitement the new cast members had about being part of the beloved Disney series.
She told People magazine: "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.
Talking about how the new cast members brought back memories of filming the first movie in 2015, she added: "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.
"So I think that it would've meant a lot to him to see the baton passed on."
China previously admitted she was "nervous" about returning to the franchise without her friend but ultimately found it to be a "healing" experience.
She told People at the time: “I was apprehensive to revisit the Descendants world at first, because losing Cam was the first heartbreak I’ve ever experienced.
"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. 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.”
The new film features a tribute to Cameron, when China's Una talks to Fairy Godmother about her plans to open the school up to all Villain Kids (VK) and declares it is what his character Carlos would have wanted, as she tearfully looks over at a framed photo of him on the wall.