The Descendants movie franchise is one of Disney’s biggest outputs.
And although the films bring joy to thousands around the world, they’ve not been without sadness. Sadly, actor Cameron Boyce, who played Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil, died before the third film was released.
Cameron died at the age of 20 in July 2019, days before Descendants 3 was released on August 2. Other roles that were filmed before his death included the film Runt, which was released in 2020, and Prime Video series Paradise City, which came out in 2021.
READ MORE: Disney+ axes ‘under the radar’ series after just one season as fans blame ‘poor advertising’
READ MORE: Click for more brilliant Daily Star showbiz stories
Disney recently released a fourth film in the franchise – The Rise of Red – although this was a spin-off of the original trilogy. Cameron and his co-stars appeared in old footage from past films, but none of the remaining original cast returned.
Cameron Boyce’s tragic autopsy
(Image: Getty Images)
Cameron was found unresponsive at his North Hollywood home in the early afternoon of July 6. His housemates attempted CPR after the went in to check on him and found him. He was sadly pronounced dead at 2.35pm.
An autopsy was carried out, but the cause and manner of death were not shared. After more testing, it was determined that his death had been sudden and unexpected due to epilepsy, with it being recorded as natural.
It was reported that Cameron was last seen alive just after midnight on the day of his death. His parents’ initial statement said Cameron had died of a seizure in his sleep, which the autopsy later confirmed.
(Image: Getty Images)
It was discovered that medication he had been taking for epilepsy was found in his system when he died. However treatment also included a contraption which would be wired up to his head to capture brain activity, but nothing ever showed up on it.
According to Cameron’s dad, the seizures only happened when he was asleep and he would have no memory of them after. He was said to bite his lip or tongue while seizing.
His mother later said she would have “never let him out of her sight” if she’d have known one of these seizures could have killed him.
Cameron Boyce’s final hours
(Image: VICTOR BOYCE/ INSTAGRAM)
In the hours leading up to Cameron Boyce’s death, he shared a black and white photo of himself. He left no caption, but tagged ID magazine.
On July 5, Cameron had been with his parents out at dinner. His dad Victor told ABC News: “He came to visit, and I was just so happy to see him and gave him a big hug … It was just cool that, here’s my 20-year-old son just drove up in his car from his house and he’s coming to visit me.”
Victor spoke of how excited he was to see Cameron living independently.
Upon returning home from dinner, Cameron continued texting with his parents about the Lakers until just after midnight. “Somewhere between the last text he sent me and the morning, he was gone,” Victor later said. “It’s not cliche to say, you never know. You never know.”
Tragically, Cameron’s parents assumed he had simply gone to sleep.
Cameron Boyce’s co-stars
(Image: Disney)
Following his death, Cameron’s Descendants co-stars spoke out of their grief. The movie’s director Kenny Ortega said: “My Love, Light and Prayers go out to Cameron and his family. Cameron brought Love, Laughter and Compassion with him everyday I was in his presence. His talent, immeasurable. His kindness and generosity, overflowing.”
Dove Cameron, who played Mal, broke down in tears in a video tribute. “Cameron was one of my favourite people alive in the world.”
Kristin Chenoweth, who also appeared in the movies, also spoke of his death on The Talk. She said: “All those kids are like my kids. Just like the Glee kids are. Just like the Hairspray kids are. But Cameron Boyce was one of my babies.”
(Image: Disney)
Hollywood legend Adam Sandler, who starred alongside Cameron in Grown Ups, also paid tribute. He said: “Too young. Too sweet. Too funny.
“Just the nicest, most talented, and most decent kid around. Loved that kid. Cared so much about his family. Cared so much about the world.
“Thank you, Cameron, for all you gave to us. So much more was on the way for you. All our hearts are broken.”
Why didn’t the original Descendants cast return?
(Image: Getty Images for Hulu)
It was revealed that Dove and her co-stars would not be returning for the fourth movie. In interviews after Cameron’s death, Dove said continuing the story without him wouldn’t feel right.
She said: “I don’t think it would be the same without the whole original cast. It would just be different now and also we did it. We told a full story. We completed it.”
Dove went on: “What happened was so incredibly heart wrenching for all of us and something we could not recover from, and so, I think the idea of making another movie, while it would be nostalgic for all of us and while it would be healing in a lot of ways, it might also be super wrong.”
She did credit Disney for cancelling all plans when Cameron died, though.
Want all the biggest Showbiz and TV news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Showbiz newsletter.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
