It’s been a rough few months for Disney in terms of its relationship with the queer community. After CEO Bob Chapek’s open apology to its employees, the company has been displaying more leniency towards LGBTQ+ characters in their movies. But there’s another possibility that Disney could take, and that’s with their 2021 film Raya and the Last Dragon. Kelly Marie Tran, in an interview with Insider, said that she would jump at the chance for a queer sequel.
When the trailers for Raya dropped, the queer community was quick to point out certain visuals that stuck out to them. One angle, in particular, was Raya’s semi-flirty relationship with enemy princess Namaari (Gemma Chan), namely calling her “Princess Undercut” with a smirk. Vanity Fair spoke with Tran in 2021 about the film, where she voiced the titular princess Raya. Here, Tran revealed that she interpreted Raya and Namaari’s relationship as something more than just friends-to-enemies. According to Vanity Fair, she was ecstatic to talk about that particular side of the film.
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Following in the footsteps of Brave and Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon was an entry to the Disney Princess line that featured a princess who isn’t paired off with a male counterpart/love interest. Instead, Raya gets a team of friends from all the neighboring clans, a playful dragon, and Namaari; whom she learns to open up to and trust as a friend and ally. This display ultimately saves their world and brings the dragons back.
How to Return to Kumandra
Walt Disney Studios
While Raya and the Last Dragon received positive reviews from critics upon release, its release was affected by both the COVID-19 pandemic and with Disney’s musical phenomenon Encanto coming out later in the year. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award but lost to the Colombia-set hit. But what Raya has that can keep it fresh is its enormous world.
The movie establishes not just a simple kingdom with a few towns but an entire Southeast Asian-inspired sub-continent known as Kumandra, with five separate kingdoms with their own unique cultures. Raya is a minefield of potential lore, characters, and themes that can be explored! This gives Disney multiple golden opportunities for not just a sequel but possibly even a series they can put on Disney+. Along with exploring the world, Disney could also have a golden opportunity to establish Raya as a potential first queer Disney Princess. Maybe that relationship with Namaari could start off as mending and eventually become something more. Even if the idea of a sequel is a pipedream, Tran is on the side of queer fans who are looking to her character as one of their own. And it’s clear that the opportunity is there for Disney to reach out for, should the company decide to step into Kumandra again.
