Actor Lucas Grabeel sobbed rainbow tears of joy when he discovered that his “High School Musical” character, Ryan Evans, would come out as gay within the Disney+ series based on the long-lasting franchise.
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” dropped its fourth and final season on Wednesday and there’s a scene where among the original Disney Channel stars are filming “High School Musical 4.”
The TV series’ showrunner Tim Federle told TV Line recently that he called Grabeel, 38, to inform him the news of Ryan’s sexual orientation.
“Lucas, like, cried on the phone and said, ‘This could mean a lot to individuals who grew up with this movie,’” Federle recalled.
He went on and noted that the “Switched at Birth” star had told him: “It’s what they were at all times sort of missing from this character.”
The TV show’s scene featured Ryan kissing his partner, portrayed by Pentatonix member Scott Hoying.
“High School Musical” premiered on Disney Channel in 2006 and subsequently had two sequels released in the next years. The musical series was released on Disney+ in 2019 and concluded this summer.
The favored flick a couple of group of teenage pals who determine to participate of their school’s theater production shot a lot of its young stars into fame comparable to Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman and Grabeel.
The show’s fourth season premiere episode also revealed where the unique characters ended up after graduation.
The scene unveiled that Efron and Hudgens’ Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez are in couple’s therapy while Ryan is happily dating his partner they usually are also expecting twins.
As for Bleu and Coleman, their characters Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie are married.
“High School Musical” director Kenny Ortega divulged in 2020 that since the trilogy stopped after highschool graduation, Evans would have come out as a part of the LGBTQ community in college.
“It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colours come forward,” he told Variety, adding that he “didn’t think on the time” that Disney would allow gay characters on screen because the network was tailored for teenagers and families.
That very same 12 months, Grabeel looked back on the time he first inquired Ortega about Ryan’s sexual orientation.
“I got here as much as Kenny in the future and was like, ‘Hey, so can we talk concerning the character for a second? Ryan’s gay, right?’” he told TMZ, also saying that the filmmaker “agreed” with the query.
The “Halloweentown High” star also discussed that if “HSM” was filmed today, he doesn’t think he could be suited to embody Ryan.
“There are such a lot of amazingly talented gay actors that might do it as well, so if ‘High School Musical’ was made today — I don’t know if I might play Ryan,” he said.
He continued: “I might like to, however the very last thing I need to do is take a possibility away from other people. As a straight white man, I do know that even without trying, I actually have taken opportunities away from other people.”
