Is riley gay in inside out 2

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Inside Out 2!Inside Out 2 unveils Riley's profound secret, and while this narrative element enhances the sequel, it diminishes a prominent Inside Out speculation. Before the release of Inside Out 2, considerable speculation surrounded the passage of several years in Riley's life and the events shaping her persona. One particular hypothesis gained significant traction, but Inside Out 2, while not explicitly refuting it, renders this speculation far less probable.

Inside Out 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the acclaimed 2015 film, has premiered. This sequel expertly expands upon the original's core concepts, augmenting Riley's initial five emotions with five new emotional states: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Nostalgia. These new emotional figures are pivotal to the narrative, but Inside Out 2 also explores a narrative arc centered around a hidden, profound secret concealed by Riley.

Her Hidden Act: A Misplaced Rug?

Speculation preceding Inside Out 2 frequently posited that the sequel would reveal Riley's LGBTQ+ identity, a widely anticipated development. Promotional materials, including trailers, appeared to suggest Riley's affections for a senior female hockey player, implying a potential LGBTQ+ orientation for Riley within Inside Out 2. Despite considerable anticipation among audiences, this revelation remained absent, even though the plot did hint at the revelation's eventual presence.

Early in the film, the core emotions are confined to a vault safeguarding Riley's most private secrets. Inside this vault, Joy encounters the embodiment of Riley's profound secret. Joy's attempt to elicit the secret remains unsuccessful. Consequently, many assumed Riley's profound secret would concern her sexual orientation. The setup implied a potential coming-out narrative, aided by her other emotional manifestations.

Inside Out 2, though, included a post-credits scene to set the stage for the anticipated disclosure of Riley's homosexuality, but it ultimately revealed a much less dramatic and intriguing secret—a burnt rug. This twist greatly disappointed many anticipating LGBTQ+ representation in a Pixar film, highlighting a missed opportunity to address that theory.

While fans continue to entertain the possibility of Riley's LGBTQ+ identity within the Inside Out universe, Riley's lack of overt homosexual expression complicates matters. Although the film suggests potential romantic interest in Val, Riley fails to publicly affirm her LGBTQ+ status to her peers; thus, if she is gay, she remains unacknowledged.

Consequently, the only conceivable route to disclosing her LGBTQ+ status would have involved a direct manifestation of her inner conflicts. One would expect Riley's sexuality to be evident in some manner within her emotional landscape. However, no such manifestation is displayed in Inside Out 2. Riley's affections seemingly remain focused on male figures, suggesting an absence of homosexual identity.

A Necessary Temporal Gap

Despite the absence in Inside Out 2, a future Inside Out 3 could potentially disclose Riley's LGBTQ+ identity. Just as Inside Out 2 did, a future installment, Inside Out 3, could adopt a temporal shift, focusing on a more mature Riley. This older Riley might have had the time to comprehend and embrace her LGBTQ+ identity. It's entirely plausible that Riley had not yet recognized her true self in the temporal setting of Inside Out 2, and Pixar may have reserved this plotline for a future installment.

Prior to the streaming release of the sequel, reports emerged suggesting pressure on Pixar from The Walt Disney Company to soften the narrative representation of Riley's possible queerness. This pressure supposedly stemmed from concerns surrounding Lightyear's box office performance and perceived implications of the film's representation of queer characters. Disney executives, according to reports, voiced concerns about Riley's possible queerness.

Previous Pixar films showcased queer characters, such as Lake, Wade's nonbinary sibling in Elemental, and Officer Specter, a cyclops voiced by Lena Waithe, in Onward. However, a common thread uniting these characters is their non-explicit queerness. Many hoped that Inside Out 2 would adopt a different approach, but the film instead amplified the frustration regarding the lack of proper representation.

Given the numerous allusions to Riley's queer identity in Inside Out 2, some spectators surmise that the film's original plot aimed to center Riley's profound secret around her sexuality. Potential studio interference may have led to the alteration of this plan, substituting it with a lighter, more harmless revelation. This hypothetical scenario, however, remains unconfirmed.

If Disney executives genuinely believe that Lightyear's same-sex kiss hampered its box office success, the company may persist in avoiding queer representation in future films. While Inside Out 2's success is commendable, the reports of Disney's desire for a less overtly queer portrayal cloud the situation. Disney may continue drawing false parallels between box office performance and inclusion of LGBTQ+ elements. However, more recent Disney television projects have integrated explicit LGBTQ+ representations, such as Agatha All Along.

Ultimately, Disney's reluctance to feature LGBTQ+ characters and themes likely stems from anxieties concerning box office results. Should Inside Out continue as a theatrical series, Disney will undoubtedly urge Pixar to prioritize caution, thereby jeopardizing any future attempts at more inclusive portrayals, particularly regarding Riley and any sequel to Inside Out 2.