When Whitehall was cast as McGregor Houghton in 2018, it was announced with fanfare that McGregor would be Disney’s “ first gay character,” a title a dozen other characters have been given before and since with vanishing returns. Lily Houghton, and the film also stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Frank, the skipper of said jungle-bound boat. McGregor is the brother of Emily Blunt’s lead character Dr.
This time around, the character is British actor Jack Whitehall’s McGregor in Jungle Cruise, a movie I assume involves some sailing through the forest primeval.
At this point I feel like we should have a boilerplate article pre-written to fill in as needed: “Disney character X is gay as evidenced in one blink-and-you miss it scene/reference/throwaway line that can be easily excised for international markets.” Another day, another Disney character who we’re told is queer but only demonstrates this in the vaguest terms possible.