How did Disney’s Descendants: Rise of Red honor late Cameron Boyce? Tribute explained

Descendants: Rise of Red is a spin-off of Disney's Descendants franchise and the first film not to star Cameron Boyce, who died in 2019 from an epileptic seizure.

Cameron Boyce played Carlos De Vil, son of Cruella De Vil, in the first three films of the Descendants series. Descendants: Rise of Red has a prominent early scene paying tribute to Cameron and his character.

When Uma is about to take over as the new headmistress of Auradon Prep, she proposes expanding access to the high school to more candidates, like the residents of Wonderland.

To address the Fairy Godmother's reservations, she says that this is how they should honor Carlos De Vil's memory, as giving the chance of redemption to more children with unfortunate villainous upbringings is exactly what he'd want.

---

Cameron Boyce makes his mark in Descendants: Rise of Red

Cameron Boyce was one of the original protagonists of the Descendants films, appearing in the 2015 original, Descendants 2 and Descendants 3. He played Carlos De Vil, the son of Cruella De Vil, who is the main antagonist of the 101 Dalmatians franchise.

Carlos De Vil had a particularly harsh upbringing, with his mother not even giving him his own room, forcing him to sleep on a mattress and making him stand guard over her fur collection.

Over his time at Auradon Prep, Carlos develops into a staunch ally of his friend Mal, most notably by appealing to her better nature in Descendants 2 when she tries to return to the Isle of the Lost.

Due to Cameron Boyce's untimely death, Carlos De Vil was also killed off between Descendants 3, and Descendants: Rise of Red.

When discussing how his character would be incorporated into Descendants: The Rise of Red, executive producer Suzanne Todd said in a July 12 interview with TVLine:

"We always knew that we wanted to pay some kind of tribute. ... 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 tribute to Carlos in Descendants: Rise of Red is what sets the movie's plot in motion, as Uma's plea to open up Auradon Prep for the villainous children of Wonderland is done to honor Carlos.

Disney had also released a tribute video for Cameron Boyce shortly after his death. (Image via Disney)

That's what results in Red being admitted to Auradon prep, setting the schemes of the Queen of Hearts, her mother, in motion. When Red and the Queen of Hearts go to Auradon Prep, they meet Cinderella, the mother of Chloe Charming, who's also starting her first day of school.

The Queen of Hearts subsequently launches a coup against Auradon Prep and pressures her daughter to sentence Cinderella to death.

Red, who'd pilfered a pocket watch capable of time travel from the Mad Hatter's son, Maddox, travels back in time to the Queen of Hearts' past, when she was just known as Bridget.

---

While Cameron Boyce suffered an untimely death in 2019, his legacy lives on in Descendants: Rise of Red, which released on Disney+ on July 12.