The “High School Musical” movie franchise was one of Disney’s biggest and most successful projects that launched the careers of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman.
Back in 2018, it was announced that Disney+ will be releasing a “High School Musical” spin-off titled “High School Musical: The Musical“. The series’s upcoming season finally answered one of the longest fan theories about one of its characters’ sexual identity. Watch:
It's time for the high school reunion we've all been waiting for… 😉 Here's a sneak peek of the opening number of #HSMTMTS, streaming August 9 on @DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/UUhsY1RXU5
— HSM: The Musical: The Series (@hsmseries) July 25, 2023
Ever since the first “High School Musical” movie, fans have speculated that Lucas Grabeel’s character Ryan Evans, Sharpay’s twin brother, was a queer character as the way he was depicted was similar to that of an actual stereotypical gay individual; flamboyant, well-dressed, and passionate in the performing arts.
The rumours and speculations have been put to rest after the sneak peek of its 4th season was posted last night (Tuesday, 25th July) where Ryan shared an on-screen kiss with his boyfriend who was played by Pentatonix member Scott Hoying. The revelation blew up on Twitter with many fans celebrating their favourite character from the franchise.
A lot of them, however, were not entirely surprised as they’ve always suspected the character to be at least queer-coded. Some said they were glad to hear how far Disney has come to even allow this to air on a family-friendly streaming platform.
Previously, Lucas Grabeel once said in an interview that he asked Kenny Ortega, the director of “High School Musical” if his character was actually gay. The director then answered, “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”. He then later confirmed that Ryan was indeed queer-coded to bypass the censorship.
“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,” he said. What do you think of this revelation? Have you always known or were you actually surprised?
