Here's every original Descendants star returning for Descendants: The Rise of Red — and who isn't

The original Descendants characters are "rotten to the core" — but are they rotten for life?

A new chapter in the popular Disney movie musical franchise is about to begin with Descendants: The Rise of Red. And while this film marks a new beginning after the original trilogy, there are some familiar faces returning to reprise their roles to make it an official sequel rather than a spinoff.

The fourth installment follows the next generation of Villain Kids, a.k.a. the children of iconic Disney characters. Kylie Cantrall plays Red, the rebellious daughter of the ruthless Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora), and Malia Baker plays Chloe, the perfectionist daughter of Cinderella and the now-King Charming (played by Brandy and Paolo Montalban, reprising their roles from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella). Unlikely allies Red and Chloe are forced to work together when the Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, leading the duo to travel back in time to undo the traumatic event that set Red’s mother down her villainous path.

While most of the cast is new in this movie, there are a couple original characters from the first three movies returning to reprise their roles. Here is the (short, but complete) list of who came back for the fourth movie.

China Anne McClain

China Anne McClain made her Descendants debut in the second movie as Uma, a.k.a. the daughter of Ursula (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg), and she returned for the third and now the fourth installment. But times sure have changed, as the former VK is now the Principal of Auradon Prep. 

Now in charge, Uma is running the school with an inclusive attitude, and plans to open Auradon Prep to "all the kingdoms," including the formerly trapped Wonderland. And thanks to some time travel shenanigans, we'll also meet Uma's aunt/Ursula's sister in the past, played by High School Musical: The Musical: the Series alum Dara Reneé.

Melanie Paxson

The only other original Descendants star who returns for the fourth movie is Melanie Paxson, who plays Fairy Godmother. She appeared in all three films of the original trilogy, and once again reprises her role in the fourth. But she's not the only one playing this character — viewers will also get to meet the younger version of her when she was just Fay, a student at Auradon Prep (portrayed by Grace Narducci).

Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, and all the other original stars

As for who isn't reprising their roles from the original trilogy, well ... that's a much longer list. While Uma name drops Mal in the trailer, Dove Cameron does not appear onscreen for the first time in the franchise. Her main character from the first three movies still has a major impact on the fourth, however, since it's revealed that Mal convinced Uma to take over as Principal of Auradon Prep, and Uma's decision to invite Wonderland VK's to school is what sets everything in motion.

Descendants trilogy star Cameron Boyce's character Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil, is also not in the movie; the actor died five years ago at 20 from a seizure caused by his epilepsy. McClain told PEOPLE that she was nervous to return to the franchise without Boyce, but said that reprising her role ended up being "healing" for her and teased an emotional scene that was "special" to her.

"Losing Cam was the first heartbreak I’ve ever experienced," McClain said. "But once I saw how excited the new generation of kids were, it reminded me of myself when we created the original films. Everything came together beautifully. There’s one scene that is very special to me, I’m sure the audience will be able to guess which one it is once they see the movie."

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Other original stars Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson, Mitchell Hope, Brenna D'Amico, and Anna Cathcart also do not return. And while Thomas Doherty's Harry does not appear in this movie, we will meet his father, Hook, back when he was a student at Auradon Prep, played by Joshua Colley.

Descendants: The Rise of Red premieres Friday on Disney+, with an encore on Friday, August 9 on Disney Channel.