Get ready for Descendants 2 With The Inside Scoop From The Cast and Filmmakers

We attended a Descendants 2 press event as part of the Disney and Marvel Studios hosted Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Event.

If there’s one thing I learned 2015’s Descendants, it’s that there are a lot of adults who will spend their Friday night watching Descendants 2. You know, plenty of parents pretending it’s for their kids when they’ve been anxiously counting down the days for themselves.

You’ll be able to catch Descendants 2 when it debuts on July 21, 2017 on five different television networks simultaneously: ABC, Freeform, Lifetime, Disney XD, and Disney Channel.  I can’t pretend I’m not one of those adults waiting for Friday night myself.

They’re proud to have made a movie that can be enjoyed by the entire family. “I laugh and I’m moved and I’m touched, and I think the big surprise here is that the Disney Channel has a movie for everyone,” says director Kenny Ortega. “We really have a movie that is family entertainment, focused on our core audience, your children, but we’ve been now living with this. It evolves, it develops, and now looking at it, I am so entertained by it.”

Designer Kara Saun created the amazing costumes that are featured in both Descendants films. Each character will be seen wearing custom pieces designed with amazing details, down to things like tiny seashell embellishments on Uma’s costume. Each character has a unique color story, and that was true for Ursula’s daughter as well. “When I watched the movie [The Little Mermaid], I just kept on looking at the eye shadow. Every character has to have their own color. Mal already had the purple. The turquoise reminded me of the sea and it’s very aquatic.”

China Anne McClain joins the cast of Descendants 2 playing Uma, the daughter of Ursula. “We all have those feelings inside that we just want to unleash on people sometimes, and that’s the definition of Uma’s character. She has always bottled up feelings that she randomly unleashes on people and is not sorry for it at all. So, it was fun playing that and it was really cool. She’s really cool.”

Dove Cameron returns as Mal, a role that she has thrown her whole heart into. “Mal is my ride or die. I fell in love with her when I read the “Descendants” script back in 2013.” It’s clear that the cast is one big family. “There’s a beautiful synergy between the fact that the whole cast has been having this year long love affair with each other. We’re so there for each other in a sibling-like, familial way and it translates to the film.”

Cameron Boyce’s Carlos has done a lot of growing up in the sequel. “I think one of the main things that we focus on in this franchise is self-worth and really making sure that you feel like you belong… because everyone belongs.”

Sofia Carson loved the opportunity to return to her first movie role. “It changed my life and I fell in love with Evie and [loved] being able to tell her story. We’ve become such a family and working with Kenny and everyone is just always a dream, so when we found out the sequel was green lit, we were just beyond thrilled.”

Booboo Stewart, who plays Jay, thinks you can enjoy Descendants 2 independent of the original film. “It’s really nice going into the second movie with the first one doing as well as it did. But this movie stands alone. It’s its own thing.”

Catch Descendants 2 on July 21, 2017 on ABC, Freeform, Lifetime, Disney XD, or Disney Channel!