The Jonas Brothers are going back to their Disney roots, both executive producing and reprising their Camp Rock roles in the franchise’s third film.
Camp Rock 3 sees the brothers’ band Connect 3 returning to the camp to look for a new opening act for their tour. This means a whole new cast of campers — led by Malachi Barton and Liamani Segura — are introduced, along with a cameo appearance from fellow O.G. star Demi Lovato (who also serves as an EP).
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the film’s L.A. premiere on Monday, Joe Jonas said that in shooting scenes with Lovato, they “both were looking at these new campers kind of pinching ourselves like wow, this is a pretty wild full circle moment. We’ve all lived so much life and to be where we are today and to create something like this, Camp Rock 3, as producers, wearing the producer hat, I think we were like, ‘This is kind of wild.’”
Walking the carpet alongside Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas, Joe also weighed in on getting to know the next generation of Disney stars, and how different it is now than when the brothers were first getting famous.
“I don’t envy anybody that’s doing this now, there’s probably a lot more scrutiny,” Joe noted. “Things happen a lot faster, and with that you also have an opportunity to kind of explain yourself quicker; when we were starting, we didn’t have a lot of options — just kind of hope that the article isn’t about you. Now you can at least go on your TikTok and say, ‘Hey guys, I didn’t say that’ or whatever it is.”
Joe Jonas also emphasized that there are more resources now to speak to professionals and get support from the studio, and “we also wanted to make sure that we were running a safe space on set. That was one of our priorities when we signed up to do this, we were like, ‘We want these kids to feel comfortable,’ because ultimately we remember what it was like and it can be a lot of pressure. They’re about to be shot out of a cannon into stardom, so we wish them the best and we hope they’re surrounded by love and care.”
Lovato said she also offered the new stars plenty of advice, telling them that “this is going to be a whirlwind and make sure to take breaks if you need them; it’s so important to protect your mental health, and to soak it up and to have fun. That’s the most important part.”
The pop star explained that returning to Camp Rock almost two decades after the sequel was “really healing for me,” as “Camp Rock has meant so much to so many people and it’s meant so much to me; this was the beginning of my journey in this industry and [my character] Mitchie will always have a huge, special place in my heart.”
Camp Rock 3 premieres Thursday on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+.
Tiffany Taylor contributed to this report.
