Disney Descendants: Why the Franchise Evolved and What It Means for Fans

Posted June 26, 2025

I’ve seen a lot of people say Disney Descendants should have stopped at 3 because the fourth movie didn’t include the original cast or reflect the story fans grew up with. Sure, Descendants 4 didn’t bring back the whole OG group, but it did have one key original character Uma, who stood in for the original cast and gave the story a hopeful, fresh ending to the OG cast.

Disney’s decision to rebrand the franchise with new faces was about introducing Descendants to a new generation. This new generation meets different characters, different voices, and a new storyline, not the exact one Gen Z grew up loving.

Now, imagine if Dove Cameron had returned for the fourth movie. Disney might have even given her an executive producer role to bring Mal and the OG cast together with Red and the new characters. Think of it like the Descendants and Zombies World Collide tour, a perfect blend of old and new fans and characters bonding.

That would have been amazing. But the OG cast, including Dove, have their own plans, Dove focusing on her music career being a prime example. Speaking of which, it’s interesting to see the rising trend of Disney actors and actresses moving into music after establishing their acting careers. It’s a cool career path and a natural extension of their talents.

Back to Descendants: the franchise reboot gives fresh faces and voices a chance to shine. I truly believe if Mal and Red did meet, they’d be besties, both daughters of villains with “bad blood in their bones” who chose to change their paths. While Red hasn’t joined the boys’ world quite yet, and Mal’s love story with Ben sets them apart, both characters are spectacular in their own rights.

For me, Descendants 2 had the best songs and hair. Descendants 3 brought a good story with a few catchy tunes. Descendants: Rise of Red stood out for its songs and exploring Red’s character.

One common complaint among fans is now that Disney uses too much auto-tune on the newer films, and fans want to hear the actors’ real voices. Here’s the thing: auto-tune starts with a person singing their real voice, then editing is added to enhance the sound. It’s not fake singing, just a production choice.

So before jumping to conclusions, it helps to know how music production really works.