Nick Jonas: A Montague?
Disney confirmed Wednesday that its “Camp Rock” sequel, “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” is on track to debut in 2010, and that the Jonas brothers will be taking on some Shakespeare-style drama.
In “The Final Jam,” Camp Rock campers Mitchie (played by Demi Lovato), Shane (Kevin Jonas), Jason (Joe Jonas) and Nate (Nick Jonas), among others, return to camp only to find out that a new, more high-tech outfit, Camp Star, has set up shop just across the lake and is luring away their talent.
To determine which camp is best, a battle of the bands must go down, but amid all the drama, Nate falls for the daughter of the owner of the rival camp.
Star-crossed lovers, indeed.
“After the tremendous success of the original ‘Camp Rock’ worldwide, everyone was very enthusiastic and excited to make the sequel,” Judy Taylor, vice president of casting and talent relations for Disney Channel, told the Daily News Wednesday. “That was great news for all of us.”
The original “Camp Rock,” which debuted last summer, raked in 10.1 million viewers on the night of its premiere and has since reached over 140.7 million viewers worldwide.
“The Final Jam” will be directed by Paul Hoen, who also directed Disney’s “Jump In!” and “The Cheetah Girls One World,” and will be choreographed by Rosero McCoy, who worked on “Step Up.”
Joining the Jonases and Lovato in “The Final Jam,” are newcomers Matthew (Mdot) Finley as Camp Star’s hotshot performer, Luke Williams, and Chloe Bridges as Dana Turner, the Juliet to Nick Jonas’ Romeo.
“These roles were challenging because both of these characters are from the rival camp,” said Taylor. “Particularly for the Luke character, we wanted someone who, when we saw him on stage, it would be clear that he was a worthy adversary. And Matthew came in and he owned it.”
As for Bridges, Taylor said her team has been auditioning her for years, but hadn’t yet found the right project until now.
“She has a wonderful music background and a lot of good credits under her belt [including ‘The Longshots’ and ‘The Comeback’],” Taylor said. “This was the role that she was meant to play.”
Though the title seems to suggest this will be the last “Camp Rock” installment, a spokeswoman for Disney said no such decision has been made.
