Cameron Boyce remembered by Disney, co-stars and fans as 'Descendants 3' premieres: 'This is so hard'

As Descendants 3 premiered Friday on Disney Channel, the memory of Cameron Boyce loomed large.

Boyce, who played Cruella de Vil’s son Carlos in the franchise, died 6 July at age 20. The coroner ruled that Boyce, who suffered from epilepsy, had a seizure in his sleep.

Disney cancelled the film’s red carpet premiere and pledged to donate to Thirst Project, a nonprofit organisation he supported. Descendants 3 aired on TV as planned, but before the musical movie started, the company recognised Boyce with a simple message: “For Cameron, Who Made Every Moment Count,” alongside a photo of him in the recording studio.

An hour before the premiere, Boyce’s co-star Dove Cameron shared that her and co-stars Booboo Stewart and Sofia Carson had just sent him text messages of love.

Carson also shared a clip of the group celebrating the wrap of the movie. “Dear cam,” she captioned it, “this one’s for you.”

The day before the movie’s debut, co-star China Anne McClain posted footage of her and Boyce embracing on set. “I love you forever,” McClain wrote. “This movie belongs to YOU.”

Actor Stewart correctly predicted that it also would be tough for some fans to watch.

In fact, many Descendants devotees did get emotional while watching Boyce.

Both #Descendants3 and #RIPCameronBoyce were trending on Twitter.

By Raechel Shewfelt, Yahoo Entertainment