Kelly Marie Tran says she'd be 'overjoyed' to work on a queer 'Raya and the Last Dragon' sequel
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- Kelly Marie Tran told Insider that she'd love to work on a queer "Raya and the Last Dragon" sequel.
- She also quoted "Star Wars" star Oscar Isaac when asked about Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill.
- Tran voiced Raya in the animated film, and previously played Rose Tico in "Star Wars."
Kelly Marie Tran is on board if Disney were ever to make a queer "Raya and the Last Dragon" sequel.
Insider spoke with the actress — who's also known for her portrayal of Rose Tico in the "Star Wars" franchise — on the red carpet of the Hispanic Federation's annual gala in New York City on April 28.
While Tran noted that she couldn't speak on behalf of Disney or her fellow actors, she said she would be eager to see her character Raya and Gemma Chan's Namaari get together in a potential follow-up movie or TV series.
"I will speak for myself and say I would be overjoyed to explore that in any sort of sequel in any shape or fashion," Tran said.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
"Raya and the Last Dragon" is one of multiple Disney films to feature queer-coded characters in recent years. So when the movie was released in March 2021, fans quickly pointed out the seemingly obvious romantic tension between the two animated leads.
Tran later told Vanity Fair that she also interpreted the leading characters to be part of the LGBTQ community.
"I think if you're a person watching this movie and you see representation in a way that feels really real and authentic to you, then it is real and authentic," Tran told the publication. "I think it might get me in trouble for saying that, but whatever."
Walt Disney Animation
Still, Disney never acknowledged the relationship between the two "Raya" characters and has yet to explicitly include LGBTQ leads in its other films.
Instead, the company has featured "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" moments like "a dance between two men and a kiss between two women," as Insider's Jacob Sarkisian wrote in an essay about Disney's failure to embrace the queerness of Pixar's "Luca."
The company also angered fans recently by mishandling its response to Florida's controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill. Disney first stayed silent on the issue before it was revealed that the company had made political donations to some lawmakers who supported the bill.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek then publicly apologized, said he'd meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and promised that Disney would donate $5 million to groups that support the LGBTQ community. Still, many fans and employees argued that the damage had already been done.
When asked about the legislation and Disney's response, Tran quoted her "Star Wars" costar Oscar Isaac to Insider: "I just wanna keep saying gay gay gay gay gay gay gayyyyy."
Ultimately, Tran says she's proud of "Raya and the Last Dragon" and says it was "fucking awesome" to portray a character that's both a warrior and technically a princess — even if a sequel doesn't happen.
"Everyone dreams of doing the things that I miraculously got to be a part of, so that's something I always try to remind myself," she said. "We're doing impossible things every day. That's more than anything I could've ever imagined for my life."