Delena’s Reunion Proves Princess Protection Program 2 Needs To Happen

Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez are still “One and the Same.” Over 17 years after co-starring in the beloved Disney Channel Original Movie Princess Protection Program, the former BFFs became “Delena” once again for a new collab with Gomez’s makeup line, Rare Beauty, recreating their film poster and even making one of the nostalgic YouTube vlogs they used to do as teenagers.

The Disney Channel kids are healing (both the stars and their fans), and there’s a way to make this blissful harmony last even longer. Princess Protection Program 2 needs to happen.

Let’s be real: Disney is bringing back practically every iconic DCOM they can, and rightfully so. Lovato already knows this, as she made a surprise appearance in Camp Rock 3, which premiered in August, reprising her role as Mitchie Torres.

Disney+ just wrapped production on The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen, with Raven-Symoné and Adrienne Bailon returning, and is now developing a new Halloweentown film over two decades after the fourth sequel. There have even been murmurs of more Twitches and Teen Beach movies, though that’s not official yet. So, why not Princess Protection Program next?

The 2009 DCOM follows Lovato’s Princess Rosalinda María Montoya Fioré (Disney Channel loved a long name), who is about to be crowned queen of Costa Luna when a rival nation invades her country, forcing her to enter a princess protection program. She has to hide out in a Louisiana lake town with her P.P.P. agent’s tomboy daughter, Carter (Gomez), and they have absolutely nothing in common.

The only real barrier to a sequel would be if either Lovato or Gomez didn’t want to participate, but both seem happy to revisit their Disney Channel days. Lovato helped make Camp Rock 3 happen as an executive producer, while Gomez also produced a reboot of her series Wizards of Waverly Place, sporadically popping in as her character, Alex Russo, and making her directorial debut in the final season. Plus, they did this whole Rare Beauty campaign.

If Disney wants a new movie, they can make it happen — but I have one request. The new Camp Rock and Cheetah Girls films are embracing new generations, with the OG stars serving more as mentors, which feels like the most natural way for the franchises to evolve. This is not the route a Princess Protection Program sequel should take.

It feels a bit soon for Gomez and Lovato to play mothers (ignore the Wizards reboot). And no matter their age, Rosalinda will always be a royal, which means there will always be fun stories to tell that don’t necessarily involve kids. But even if Rosalinda welcomes a princess into the royal family, Lovato and Gomez can still get up to some new hijinks, making for a fun sequel.

With Lovato’s music career and Gomez juggling Rare Beauty with acting, they might be too busy to make this happen right now. But if the returns of Cheetah Girls and Connect 3 prove anything, it’ll never be too late.