The original Descendants premiered ten years ago in 2015 and centered on four kids of feared Disney villains who got the chance to study at Auradon Prep, leaving the Isle of the Lost to be among the heroes, princes, and princesses. The late Cameron Boyce portrayed Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil, and Descendants stars paid tribute to him on the anniversary of his death last month. Now, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the film, director Kenny Ortega shared the story behind how he got to eventually cast Boyce in this film, even though he wasn't allowed to at first.
At the time Descendants came out, Boyce was starring on the Disney Channel show Jessie as Luke Ross, which premiered in 2011. He was a rising star on the network too, having provided the voice of Jake in Disney Jr.’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates and starred in Disney XD’s Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything, the latter of which premiered in 2015 as well. Ortega, who directed the original Descendants trilogy, told TV Insider that he wanted the rising young actor, but Disney was against it, telling him the following reasons why at the time:
