“You didn’t think that was the end of the story, did you?” That closing line has become somewhat of a tradition with Disney’s “Descendants” franchise, and its latest installment — “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland,” which premiered July 16 on Disney Channel — is no exception.
This time around, that all-important question is asked by Chessy, the troublemaking daughter of the Cheshire Cat (voiced by Awkwafina). The moment comes, as it always does, in the movie’s final moments, after Red (Kylie Cantrall) and her motley crew have battled their way through Wonderland to rescue the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora) from the now-evil Maddox Hatter (Leonardo Nam).
A lot happens in this movie — arguably one of the franchise’s best installments yet, a 90-minute feast of fast-paced action, satisfying character moments, and a no-skip soundtrack — but right now, let’s focus on that ending for a minute.
Following the last big group number (“This Is Your Life”), the movie gives us a quick scene with Pink (Liamani Segura) returning to the party to grab something she forgot — her and Red’s mysterious memory box from when they were children. Pink briefly opens the box, revealing something shiny and magical inside, though we aren’t actually shown the box’s contents.
“We love the world of magical objects and what those could be,” executive producer Suzanne Todd tells TVLine. “We had made some specific decisions [about that last scene], and we shot it a number of different ways. In the end, we decided to go with what you saw, but we did have some specific ideas about trajectories we might want to jump off of that are interesting.”
Todd encourages the fans to keep those theories coming, because she enjoys going on social media to see the “fun and delicious” development that fans hope to see in future movies.
Descendants stars share their theories about what’s in Pink and Red’s memory box
So, what does the cast of “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” think about that ending? It’s something they’ve given a lot of thought to. “We would talk about this all the time on set,” Kiara Romero (Hazel) tells TVLine, though she admits, “We actually don’t know.”
“You never know with Pink,” adds Liamani Segura. “I think she has tricks up her sleeves, I really do. I don’t know what the trinket is, but I guess we’ll have to see!”
Even though he’s joking, we do kind of love Alexandro Byrd’s (Luis) swing-for-the-fences idea: “Evil Pink.” Can’t you just imagine a tiny, evil version of Segura’s character chilling in there?
Frankly, the sparkly nature of the box’s contents — coupled with the Tinkerbell mention earlier in the movie — has us wondering if a trip to Neverland could be in the Descendants’ future. And if that’s the case, they’re all in.
“I would love that,” Romero says to the idea of potentially traveling to the “Peter Pan” location to meet Hazel’s father Captain Hook, whom we’ve only previously seen as a teenager (played by Joshua Colley) in “Rise of Red.” Segura is already imagining Pink’s adventures in the “mermaid lagoon,” while Romero is excited by the prospect of Hazel seeing Tinkerbell on screen — perhaps to apologize for ripping off the poor fairy’s wings.
Descendants stars reveal what they don’t want to find in Red and Pink’s memory box
The cast of “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” may not know exactly what’s in Red and Pink’s memory box, but they know what they don’t want to see in it.
“Hopefully not another pocket watch,” Kylie Cantrall tells TVLine with a laugh. “We want to be done with her. If it reappears? Madness.”
Adds Malia Baker, “We’ll have to bring an actual mallet to set [to destroy it].”
OK, “Descendants” fans, let’s talk all things “Wicked Wonderland.” What do you think is in Red and Pink’s memory box? And what did you think of the movie overall? Grade it in our poll below, then drop a comment with your wildest theories.