The following article spoils the end of Descendants: The Rise of Red. Haven’t watched yet? You know what to do.
If there’s one thing you can count on from a Descendants movie — besides wild wigs, countless costume changes, and a skip-free soundtrack — it’s an ending that leaves you wanting more, and The Rise of Red is certainly no exception.
Now streaming on Disney+, the franchise’s fourth feature-length installment sends the daughters of Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts back in time to stop the event responsible for turning the latter evil in the first place, thereby preventing her from staging a coup and taking over Auradon.
Red (Kylie Cantrall) and Chloe (Malia Baker) succeed in their mission, returning to the present to find a bubbly, pink-hued Queen of Hearts in place of the tyrant they once knew. But as Uma (China Anne McClain) warns in the film’s closing voiceover, messing with the fabric of time often yields unforeseen consequences. It’s a vague warning, but it’s just enough to get fans theorizing about what the girls might have accidentally changed on their journey to the past.
As many fans are already speculating, could saving the Queen of Hearts from succumbing to darkness have somehow caused her fate to befall Cinderella, transforming the paragon of Disney goodness into a formidable foe?
“I can neither confirm nor deny the future good or evil-ness of anybody, other than saying that there will be future good and evil turns for sure,” executive producer Suzanne Todd teases. “It’s super fun thinking about it and trying to work it out.” There is one thing she will confirm, though, much to the relief of fans everywhere: “We are definitely working on and thinking about a follow-up movie.”
For what it’s worth, Cantrall and Baker are both totally on board with the idea of Cinderella taking a dark turn, à la Audrey in Descendants 3, especially if the change extends to her offspring.
“I’m putting it out there, I want Chloe to have a little VK moment,” Baker tells TVLine. “Maybe that’s what happens, Chloe goes a little crazy.” And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Trust us, these girls have just as many theories as the fans, if not more.
Just like the original trilogy, the ending of Descendants: The Rise of Red will leave you wanting more.
Released on July 12, the Disney+ film serves as a spinoff to the popular series of movies, as it follows new characters at Auradon Prep. With Uma (China Anne McClain) now in charge as principal, she makes a new rule allowing kids from all over the kingdom to attend the school, including Red (Kylie Cantrall), the daughter of the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora).
However, when Red’s mom incites a coup against Auradon and threatens the life of Cinderella (Brandy), Red joins up with Cinderella’s daughter Chloe (Malia Baker) to take a magical adventure through time, where they come face to face with the teenage versions of their mothers.
Through a series of events, they team up to stop a pivotal event that turns Red’s mother evil. Though they seemingly stop the event from occurring, there appears to be more to the story.
Ahead of the premiere, PEOPLE talked with cast members Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, and Dara Reneé about the cliffhanger ending and the possibility of another film. Here’s everything to know.
When Red and Chloe travel back in time, the duo work together to stop a pivotal moment that changed the Queen of Hearts — then known as Bridget (Ruby Rose Turner) — to the dark side. It’s revealed that when she was a teenager at Merlin Academy, she was humiliated by Uliana (Dara Reneé) during the school dance, which essentially turned her evil.
To stop the Queen of Hearts’ coup in the present day, as well as save the life of Cinderella, Red and Chloe try to stop Uliana. When they learn that Uliana plans to steal a magic spellbook from Merlin’s office to pull off the prank, they team up to steal it first. When they successfully complete their mission, they immediately return home just moments before the Queen of Hearts starts her coup.
Though Red and Chloe stop Uliana, Red worries that her mother will still be evil when they return to the present day. As they arrive back at Auradon Prep, the events from earlier in the film begin to play out the same way. However, when the Queen of Hearts turns around, her dress is shown to be light pink, like the one she wore in her younger days.
As she releases magical hearts in the air and lovingly greets her daughter, it’s implied that Red and Chloe were successful in their mission and the Queen of Hearts never turned evil. Cinderella is also alive, happily greeting her daughter Chloe in the crowd.
Just as the original Descendants films kept their conclusions open-ended, the film ends with a voiceover from Uma that teases there is more to the story, adding that there are always consequences when you mess with the fabric of time.
Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, Cantrall teased that there is certainly a “butterfly effect” whenever you time travel, noting she’s sure Red and Chloe “altered something when [they] went back.”
Reneé also teased that whenever you go to the past, “you’re going to mess up the future,” adding that “no matter what your good intentions are, something is going to be out of place.”
“Maybe Red did more damage than good,” she noted.
Though Cantrall, Baker, and Reneé didn’t reveal whether there could be a sequel to Descendants: The Rise of Red, they also noted that they would be more than happy to reprise their roles if there was another film.
“Here’s hoping,” Baker said about a potential follow-up, adding that she would personally enjoy seeing Cinderella and King Charming’s land explored more in another film. “I would love to see more of Chloe’s home life and how it’s changed since she got back,” she said.
Though she loved that neither Red nor Chloe had a “knight in shining armor” in this film, she’d be open to exploring a romance for Chloe in a sequel. Cantrall echoed that same sentiment, saying it would “be fun to see Red have a love interest.”
Additionally, she’d love to see Red’s new dynamic with her mom. “That’s drastically going to change their relationship, so I’m interested to see how that’s going to work,” she said. “Also Red and Chloe and them now being really tight, I think that that’s going to be cool to watch.”
For Reneé, who played the villain in Descendants: The Rise of Red, she joked that she’s “biased” and would love a “Uliana origin story.” “I would love it if the VKs could come into Wonderland and do some ruckus, sneak into that little time machine and figure out how to mess things up,” she said, teasing, “Maybe Uliana is in charge [now].”
Source: TVLine, PEOPLE
