We are still basking in the glow of Final Jam’s lights from the Disney Channel premiere of Camp Rock 3. In that, I’m starting to wonder if there’s more to come. Contextually and narratively, the latest movie leaves some dangling threads that could lend themselves nicely to, let’s say, Camp Rock 4. As of the third movie’s release, there is understandably no word about another Camp Rock movie. Nevertheless, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Disney Channel and Disney+ realize that they have a yearly release to optimize – or at least they should, and not only because I want Mitchie and Shane to get back together.
During the tour bus challenge, the Final Five – Sage, Fletch, Desi, Rosie, and Cliff – make a pact to stay in touch. That alone inspires another movie where the new friends reunite at camp after touring as Connect 3’s opening act. The tour itself opens up stories about how characters and their dynamics evolved on the road or adjusted to life afterwards. Not to mention, one of the biggest things about Fletch is where he will be living after spending the summer at Camp Rock.
The Connect 3 tour answers some of his questions, but his cousin never calls him with any updates during the movie. Who is Fletch’s cousin? Is it someone from the original movies? And do they have any news about where Fletch will be next? Camp Rock 3 has us invested. It can’t end the story there!
MORE: Camp Rock 3 Review: Returning to Camp Rock Feels Like Magic, Nostalgia, and Only the Beginning
Speaking of invested, this movie can’t introduce all these pairings – Sage & Fletch, Rosie & Cliff, Desi & Callie – without delivering some duets at some point. The Camp Rock movies have one of the best duets in Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) history in Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam’s “Wouldn’t Change a Thing.” And maybe, just maybe, there are some clues about Camp Rock’s future in the music. At the Final Jam in Camp Rock 3, Demi Lovato reprises her role as Mitchie Torres and says, “This is their night, not mine,” about the new campers.
She also says it’s “their turn” to become Camp Rock’s stars. There’s very much a passing of the baton in that. However, that doesn’t mean that Mitchie and Connect 3 can’t have a larger role at Camp Rock in the movies’ future. After the two reconnect about Camp Rock’s magic, Joe Jonas’s Shane Gray asks Mitchie, “So, same time next summer? You’re on!” To which Mitchie replies, “You’re on!” Why else would Camp Rock 3 dangle such a promise in front of new and old Camp Rock – and Shane and Mitchie – fans if not to deliver next summer?
Then again, maybe everything around Camp Rock 3 feels more hopeful because its release comes on the heels of August 10. Last year, that day reunited the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato on stage for the first time in years. About a month later, Disney+ and Disney Channel greenlit Camp Rock 3. The movie’s premiere and Lovato’s cameo were announced on that day this year. Needless to say, it’s become a special day for Camp Rock!
MORE: 5 Things We Loved About the ‘Camp Rock 3’ Trailer
So, there’s no reason to believe there won’t be good news within the month. I can’t help but wish for it since the Jonas Brothers’ limited-run The Burning Up Tour — All Over Again starts at Madison Square Garden later this month. The nostalgia is baked into the tour. So who’s to say there won’t be some Camp Rock nods or maybe even news there too? I wouldn’t even be shocked if Demi Lovato shared the stage with them again after she said – at the Camp Rock 3 premiere – that she would relive that tour. Lovato said, “We had so much fun together. Those memories will always hold such a place in my heart.”
There’s also a chance that an announcement – or at least more nostalgia – could come sooner than that. Since returning to Disney with their Christmas movie last year, the Jonas Brothers have had many Disney-based developments, including Camp Rock 3. There are even more coming up. The brothers’ Hey Jonas! Podcast will debut on Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, August 14 – the same day the movie premieres on Disney+. The new episode will highlight Camp Rock!
Then on Sunday, August 16, Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas, and Kevin Jonas will be inducted as Disney Legends. Why not continue that run with a Camp Rock 4 announcement? The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato returning as executive producers for Camp Rock 4 feels like a given if the movie is greenlit. However, their returns as Shane Gray, Nate Gray, Jason Gray, and Mitchie Torres in even bigger roles than before – well, that would be, as Shane says, magical.
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