Warning: Contains spoilers for Inside Out 2!Inside Out 2 reveals that Riley has a deep dark secret, and while it’s a neat story beat in the sequel, it makes one popular Inside out Theory much less likely. In the beginning of Inside Out 2It was clear that several years of Riley’s life had passed, leading to many different theories as to what had happened to Riley in the intervening years between the two. Inside out Movies. One theory stood above all the rest as the most popular, and while Inside Out 2 Didn’t explicitly de-confirm it, it’s much less likely now.
Inside Out 2 has finally been released, with the highly anticipated sequel to Pixar’s beloved 2015 film now available for viewers to see. Inside Out 2 takes the basic premise of the critically acclaimed original film and expands on it, Adding to Riley’s original 5 emotions five new emotionsThese include anxiety, jealousy, embarrassment, boredom, and nostalgia. The exciting new characters make up the scope of Inside Out 2s new story, but they are not the only major arc in the sequel, as one storyline has to do with a deep dark secret that Riley has been hiding.
Riley’s Deep Dark Secret Inside Out 2 isn’t that she’s LGBTQ+
Is she… burning a carpet?
In the period leading up to Inside Out 2, It was highly theorized that the sequel would reveal that she is LGBTQ+Something that many fans are really hoping would happen. The trailers made it seem like Riley had feelings for an older female player on her hockey team, implying that Riley might be LGBTQ+ in Inside Out 2. Although many viewers fully expected to see this revelation occur Inside Out 2It didn’t end up happening, although one story thread in the film teased that it would at the end of the movie.
Inside Out 2 includes a post-credits scene… preparing audience members for the big reveal that Riley is gay.
Early in the film, the main five emotions are locked away in a vault where Riley’s biggest secrets are kept. While there, Joy meets the manifestation of Riley’s deep dark secret, and while she tries to get him to admit what the secret is, he doesn’t. On this revelation, Many fans thought that Riley’s deep dark secret would be that she is queerHow it felt like the perfect setup to show that Riley was repressing these feelings and would only come out with the help of her other emotions.
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Inside Out 2 Includes a post-credits scene in which Joy returns to Riley’s Vault of SecretsPreparing audience members for the big reveal that Riley is gay. However, that didn’t end up happening, with a joke revealing that Riley burned a hole in a rug once. This being her deep dark secret was a hugely disappointing part of Inside Out 2 For some hoping to see proper queer representation in a Pixar movie, with the film missing its chance to confirm that relay Inside out Theory.
Riley not being openly LGBTQ+ in Inside Out 2 complicates the theory
It is now to be in her mind
Although some fans are still holding on to the idea that Riley is LGBTQ+ in the world of Inside outRiley not being openly gay makes it even more complicated. Despite the film implying that Riley may have a crush on Val, she never openly says she’s LGBTQ+ to any of her friends, meaning that if she’s gay, she hasn’t come out yet.
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Because of this, The only way to reveal that she is LGBTQ+ would have been to have an aspect of her mind reveal it to her emotions. It would be expected that Riley’s sexuality would have manifested in some way in her mind, however Inside Out 2 Does not include any hint on this. Riley is never shown to be suppressing her sexuality, and all her crushes are boys, meaning that Riley still seems to be straight in Inside Out 2.
How Inside Out 3 may yet reveal Riley is LGBTQ+
It needs a time jump
Although it hasn’t happened yet, Inside Out 3 Can still reveal that Riley is LGBTQ+. Much like Inside Out 2, Inside Out 3 May take place after a time jumpFocusing on a version of Relay that is a few years older. The version of Riley could have had the time to realize that she is LGBTQ+, with this beautiful part of the third film’s story. It could simply be that Riley didn’t realize she was LGBTQ+ in the timeline of Inside Out 2 Still, with Pixar saving this storyline for a sequel.
Did Disney change Riley’s dark secret in Inside Out 2?
Disney reportedly pressured Pixar to make Riley “less gay” in Inside Out 2
Ahead of the Inside out Sequel’s release on streaming, there are reports of the Walt Disney Company pressuring Pixar to make Inside Out 2s riley”Less cheerful“In the wake of backlash against the studio’s other queer characters. Allegedly, Disney execs blamed Light year‘s box-office failure on the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it same-sex kiss between Alisha (Uzo Aduba) and her spouse, Kiko. Employees at Pixar have come forward to address Disney’s attitude toward Riley’s perceived queernessSharing that they were asked to adjust lighting in certain scenes to downplay any hint of romantic chemistry between Riley and Val.
Mostly, the weird elements of Pixar’s films can be edited out.
before to Light yearPixar’s movies featured a handful of queer characters, including Lake, Wade’s non-binary sibling in Elementaland the Lena Waithe-voiced Cyclops, Officer Specter, in Ahead. What unifies all of Pixar’s LGBTQ+ characters is that none of them declare or act on their queerness In any meaningful way. Mostly, the weird elements of Pixar’s films can be edited out. Many fans hoped that Inside Out 2 would take a different approach by integrating Riley’s queer identity into her story. instead, Inside Out 2 Made Pixar’s lack of LGBTQ+ representation even more frustrating.
With many signs hinting at Riley’s strangeness, including some of Riley’s crashes in Inside Out 2Some viewers believe that Riley’s deep, dark secret was originally going to revolve around her identity. It is possible that the pressure from Disney pushed Pixar to nix its original deep, dark secret planOpt for something more humorous and good. If this is how things turn out, it would be an even bigger disappointment for Pixar’s LGBTQ+ fans. Of course, none of the reports surrounding the changes made to Inside Out 2 Delve specifically into the content of Riley’s secret, so this remains speculation.
Disney changes to Inside Out 2 make the Riley LGBTQ+ theory less likely
Inside Out 2 was a huge hit, so Disney will continue to “play it safe”
If Disney executives really believe that Light years one-second-long same-sex kiss tanked an already poorly received movie, the company will likely continue to exclude queer characters from future films. While Inside Out 2The success is certainly worth celebrating, the reports of Disney who want the movie “Less cheerful“Complicate the matter. It is possible The company will continue to make false equivalences between a film’s success and its inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and topics. On the other hand, Disney has allowed some of its more recent television projects, viz Agatha all alongto include distinctly odd characters.
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Mostly, Disney’s reluctance to center his projects on LGBTQ+ characters and themes stems from his anxiety around box office performance. If Inside out continues to be a theatrically released series of films, Disney will likely continue to force Pixar to “play it safe,“ so to speak. Not only has Disney nixed LGBTQ+ themes, but the company has taken steps to make its movies less inclusive — starting with Riley and Inside Out 2. It’s hard to imagine that Pixar had the space to recover Riley’s secret or make it about her perceived strangeness in a Inside out 2 Sequel.