Inside Demi Lovato’s Secret Return in ‘Camp Rock 3’ and Movie’s New Generation of Stars (Exclusive)

Camp Rock 3 director Veronica Rodriguez grew up watching Disney Channel Original Movies. Now, she’s welcoming a new generation of Camp Rockers with Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers by her side. As she put it, “Younger me is screaming inside and peeing my pants for how excited I am.”

Ahead of the Camp Rock 3 premiere, Rodriguez sat down with TV Insider to reveal how the threequel came to be, what role the original cast played in crafting the story, and more. The third Camp Rock movie welcomed back Joe, Nick, and Kevin Jonas as Connect 3, and Lovato as Mitchie Torres, following a group of next-generation campers competing for the opening slot in Connect 3’s upcoming tour.

According to Rodriguez, when she joined the film, Lovato and the Jonas Brothers were already on board. She explained, “You can’t have Camp Rock without Demi and the Jonas Brothers. It just wouldn’t work. This is their world, and knowing that they were a part of it and had already given their blessing, definitely allowed me to sleep easy at night.” Ahead of the world premiere, fans did not know that Lovato would return.

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While some OG Camp Rock stars have taken to social media to discuss their characters not being present in the third film, Rodriguez explained, “I always say the stars have to align for how movies get made and who’s in them, so I think everyone who was in this version of the stars aligning was in the movie. I think we really wanted to feel like the entire Camp Rock family from the original movies felt represented and would be proud of what we were putting out to the world.”

The only other original cast member to return for Camp Rock 3 was Maria Canals-Barrera as Connie Torres, who Rodriguez revealed was essential to the project, because “hearing her voice and seeing her, you felt like you had the spirit of [her daughter] Mitchie around you.”

As for finding a new cast to enter the Camp Rock universe, Rodriguez told TV Insider, “When I look for young talent, I really love to cast based on who the actors are. Honestly, I am more so looking at who the person is more than the dialogue that they come to read for me in an audition. So, I was looking for kids who can sing, dance, and have that undeniable star power, in the same way that Demi and the Jonas Brothers have as their authentic selves.

“Liamani [Segura] has the voice of an angel,” Rodriguez continued. Revealing that the Descendants: Wicked Wonderland star auditioned with a Whitney Houston song, Rodriguez revealed. “We heard the pipes and just her gravitas, and we immediately saw what these musical numbers could be,” she said. “But I think it was really interesting that when she came in and read for Sage, she brought in this light and this joy to the character. Sage’s main focus was her ambition, and she was very intense about it. Liamani’s take on that was bringing sunshine to this intensity.”

As Rodriguez put it, “Sage was definitely meant to be the next Mitchie, but we didn’t want it to be a copy and paste of the last character.” While Mitchie had a bad habit of lying to her new friends, Sage is truthful to a little bit of a fault. “We tried to make Sage feel familiar in that beloved way, but also unique and distinct.”

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As for Zombies franchise star Malachi Barton, Rodriguez told TV Insider, “Fletch literally came together once Malachi was cast. In the back of my mind, I had visions of what Fletch looked like, which was actually very much inspired by my husband, who’s a musician. I like to say I have my own little brooding musical heartthrob at home, and I wanted to put him on screen. But then the personality of Fletch — this camp bad boy, who is still very charming and cheeky — only Malachi Barton could pull that off.”

When it comes to Hudson Stone and Casey Trotter, who play Desi and Cliff, “This is their first time on-screen ever.” Rodriguez revealed. “Those are two young actors who are perfect examples of what I had mentioned before. I love to ask actors questions, and talk with them, and see who they are as people. When that overtakes me, I’m like, ‘You have to be in this movie.’ Both of those young men, I was like, ‘You have to be in this movie because of who you are already.’ So it was really special, just honestly celebrating them and their artistry.”

The final new lead is Lumi Pollock, who learned how to play the cello for the role of Rosie. “She has talent beyond her years, and she was able to bring such heartfelt levity to the character of Rosie, who has a pretty meaningful storyline,” Rodriguez gushed. “She has the biggest transformation out of any of the characters, and so she had an arc to play, and she just did it beautifully.”

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Balancing new stars and Disney Legends, Rodriguez revealed that keeping Demi Lovato’s cameo a secret was an opportunity to “pass the torch” to the next generation. “It was very hard to keep Mitchie’s involvement a secret, especially when we were filming,” the director confessed. “There were so many people in Vancouver, trying to see what’s going on and take pictures. We were like, “Oh my gosh, Mitchie’s coming today. How do we cover it up?’ But we needed to do it, because Mitchie even says in the movie, ‘It’s time to pass the torch.’”

She added, It’s not about [Mitchie and Connect 3], and as much as we need them to bring this franchise back properly, their star power is so big and bright, they can’t help it. Everyone is interested in them, but we all really wanted for the world to get introduced to these new Camp Rockers and have time to get to know them.”

Camp Rock 3, Streaming August 14, Disney+