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Ryan Evans finally found what he was looking for.
During a sneak peek at the fourth and final season of the Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” fans seemingly confirmed Evans’ sexuality.
In the clip, Evans — who is played by Lucas Grabeel — shares a kiss with another man and thanks him for supporting his performance alongside East High School alums Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), Taylor McKessie (Monique Coleman) and Martha Cox (Kaycee Stroh).
“You look amazing!” the mystery man says, to which Evans replies, “This means so much to me that you’re here.”
After the pair shares a brief smooch, the hunky mystery man — played by Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying — tells Evans, “I love you.”
While there has always been chatter about Grabeel’s character’s sexuality, it was never referenced in the original movies.
However, creator Kenny Ortega previously said he always intended for Evans to be queer but didn’t think it could be discussed then. The first “High School Musical” movie initially came out in 2006.
“I was concerned because it was family and kids, that Disney might not be ready to cross that line and move into that territory yet,” he explained to Variety in 2020.
“So, I just took it upon myself to make choices that I felt that those who were watching would grab. They would see it, they would feel it, they would know it, and they would identify with it. And that is what happened.”
Since the movies were shot when the characters were in high school, Ortega always envisioned that Evans was “probably going to come out in college.”
“It was less about coming out,” the filmmaker shared. “[It is] just more about letting his true colors come forward.”
Similarly, Grabeel recalled the moment he first asked Ortega about his character’s sexuality in an interview with TMZ that same year.
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“I came up to Kenny one day and was like, ‘Hey, so can we talk about the character for a second? Ryan’s gay, right?’” Grabreel said, adding that the director “absolutely agreed.”
Despite the role being Grabeel’s big break, the actor now has mixed emotions about playing such an impactful part.
“There are so many amazingly talented gay actors that could do it as well, so if ‘High School Musical’ was made today — I don’t know if I would play Ryan,” he added.
“I would love to, but the last thing I want to do is take an opportunity away from other people. As a straight white man, I know that even without trying, I have taken opportunities away from other people.”
