- Director and choreographer
Kenny Ortega revealed in a recent interview that the character of Ryan Evans in Disney's "High School Musical " franchise would have come out as gay in college. - "The character of Ryan in 'High School Musical,' we decided he's probably going to come out in college," Ortega told Variety, adding that he wanted the character's "true colors" to come forward.
- Ortega also revealed that he didn't think it was "possible" at the time of the
movie 's filming to have an openly gay character. - "I didn't think at the time — and Disney is the most progressive group of people I've ever worked with," he said.
- But according to the director, there were subtle nods to Ryan's sexuality throughout all of the movies, even though the character wasn't openly gay.
"High School Musical" director Kenny Ortega revealed in a recent interview that the character Ryan Evans (Sharpay's twin brother in the popular Disney franchise) would have come out as gay in college.
After being asked by Ramin Setoodeh of Variety about the "queer aesthetic" that's present in many of his films, Ortega opened up about Lucas Grabeel's character Ryan, a musical theater-loving student whom many fans of the franchise believe to be gay.
"We decided he's probably going to come out in college," Ortega said of Ryan. "It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colors come forward."
Ortega also revealed to Variety that he didn't think it was possible to have an openly gay character while making "High School Musical" in the mid-2000s.
"I have to be honest with you. I didn't think at the time — and Disney is the most progressive group of people I've ever worked with," the director said.
"I was concerned because it was family and kids, that Disney might not be ready to cross that line and move into that territory yet," Ortega continued. "So, I just took it upon myself to make choices that I felt that those who were watching would grab. They would see it, they would feel it, they would know it and they would identify with it. And that is what happened."
On Twitter, some users weren't at all shocked by Ortega's announcement, citing a musical number from "High School Musical 2" in which Ryan and his classmate Chad (Corbin Bleu) play a game of baseball that fans consider to be "sexually charged."
—popo have beau (@cygruss) October 30, 2015
—rose ♡ tyong (@_takuwu_) June 14, 2020
—Annabelle (@annielaw01) March 31, 2016
Users also noted that Ryan and Chad inexplicably switch outfits after the number, something that's never explicitly mentioned in the rest of the film.
—sailorstevie (@sailorMEGATRON) July 1, 2020
—shania²⁸ (@mysunflouwer) June 25, 2020
—We’re the Realest and the Horrorshowiest (@Horrorshow__Pod) July 1, 2020
—frandemic (@beckysbalboa) July 1, 2020
—ًsam loves keeg !! (@nvrnormalvinyl) July 1, 2020
"High School Musical" was directed and choreographed by Ortega, and was first released on the Disney Channel in 2006. The film was an immediate success, and led to two sequels, "High School Musical 2" and "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which received a theatrical release.