Camp Rock 3 is back this week and the Jonas Brothers reunion nobody asked for is exactly what 2026 needed

Camp Rock 3 is finally here, and there's one big catch: Demi Lovato isn't actually in it.

The threequel premieres on Disney Channel on 13 August before landing on Disney+ the next day, with the Jonas Brothers returning as Connect 3 to scout new talent back at the original camp. It's been 16 years since Camp Rock 2, and the Jonas Brothers are all starring and producing this time round. What's missing is Lovato herself, who isn't reprising Mitchie Torres on screen and is instead credited as an executive producer only.

That's a genuinely strange choice for a franchise built almost entirely on the Jonas and Lovato chemistry, and it means anyone expecting a full circle Mitchie and Shane reunion is going to be disappointed. The plot instead centres on Connect 3 running the camp and discovering a new generation of singers, with Lovato's absence handled through the story rather than ignored outright.

Still, the nostalgia bait is real. This is a franchise that soundtracked plenty of childhoods, and bringing the Jonas Brothers back to the actual camp setting, ahead of their reunion tour, is smart timing regardless of who's missing from the cast list. There's a whole generation now old enough to have kids of their own obsessed with the soundtrack, and Disney clearly knows exactly who this is for.

Whether it can recapture the original magic without its other lead is the real question, and one that'll only get answered once people actually watch it. Early red carpet photos show the Jonas Brothers alongside newer cast additions rather than old faces, which suggests Disney is leaning into passing the torch rather than a pure reunion.

Catch it 13 August on Disney Channel, or wait one day and stream it on Disney+. Either way, keep expectations calibrated. This is Jonas Brothers with a cameo mention of Demi, not the double act you might be picturing.