Inside Out 2 Trailer Supports A Popular Riley Theory (That Disney Will Likely Never Confirm) (2024)

The teaser trailer for Inside Out 2 seems to support a popular theory about Riley, but it's one that Disney will likely never confirm. Continuing the story from the first movie, Inside Out 2 will involve Riley turning 13 and coping with new complex emotions as a teenager. The first trailer for the upcoming Inside Out sequel only hints at most of these new emotions rather than showing them, yet Joy and the other returning characters inside Riley's head do meet Anxiety – a character whose design supports a popular Inside Out theory.

Based on a theory that started after the first Inside Out movie was released, Riley is either trans-nonbinary or genderfluid. Previously, Pixar has confirmed fan theories pertaining to their animated movies, even writing the theories into sequel movies and short films. Unfortunately, there is almost no chance they or parent company Disney would address, let alone confirm, the theory about Riley’s gender identity. Despite this, nonbinary Riley remains one of the most popular Inside Out theories of all time.

Inside Out’s Ending Hints At Riley’s Gender

Inside Out 2's trailer supports the popular theory that Riley identifies as nonbinary or possibly genderfluid, but the theory originated from Inside Out's ending. Throughout the first movie, the emotions of Riley, her mom, and her dad are all shown, and it's noticeable that Riley's emotions present themselves masculinely and femininely, whereas her parents' emotions all use one gender expression. This is the first hint at Riley's possible gender identity. It's unfair to judge solely based on these three people, though. Riley is the only child in the equation, and three people are insufficient to establish a pattern.

The ending changes this, though, because it shows what emotions look like inside other characters' heads. When looking inside the brains of other characters, Inside Out shows emotions that match the gender expression and style of each character. Interestingly, the emotions of everyone else – as seen at the end of the movie – all lean one way or the other. If other young kids also had both masculine and feminine-presenting emotions, this could be chalked up to their developmental phase. However, the pattern of single-gender expression emotions holds true even with other kids her age, like Jordan and the goth kid in her class.

Inside Out 2’s New Character Supports This Theory

The trailer for Inside Out 2 teases new emotions, like embarrassment, ennui, and envy. Anxiety is the only new emotion shown in the trailer, though. Unlike the other five emotions in Riley's head, Anxiety is the first seemingly gender-neutral character. The character's voice sounds extremely androgynous in pitch and cadence. Anxiety's hairstyle leans away from typical gendered styles, embracing a genderless and messy look.

Moreover, clothing plays an important role in Inside Out. Each character – both emotions and humans – has clothing that fits the character's storyline and identity. Anxiety's clothing in the Inside Out 2 trailer matches common queer and nonbinary fashion trends. They wear a chunky sweater with bold orange stripes, wide-legged pants, and loafer-looking shoes. Each of these items alone could be a coincidence, but the implication becomes much stronger when they are all together.

Disney Wouldn’t Feature A Canonically Nonbinary Character

Despite hinting at Riley’s nonbinary gender identity in Inside Out and the Inside Out 2 trailer, Disney would likely never confirm this theory. The media company has only recently started depicting LGBTQ+ characters. Thus far, they have only included queer sexualities, not genders. When LGBTQ+ characters appear, they’re almost exclusively in minor roles – the primary exception being in the Pixar short Out. While Pixar tends to be more progressive, they are still beholden to their parent company. As such, they may not have the liberty to confirm the theory about Riley’s gender.

Additionally, even if Pixar wanted to confirm that Riley is nonbinary in Inside Out, they probably wouldn’t due to the fear of backlash. The current political climate is hostile toward transgender people, especially trans kids. Many states have passed laws preventing schools from acknowledging LGBTQ+ identities and stripping trans kids of their basic rights (via ACLU). This influences the way that production companies like Disney and Pixar treat LGBTQ+ characters. They're forced to create queer-coded characters instead of writing true queer stories. Since Riley is only 13, her potential nonbinary identity would be seen as a political statement, even though existing isn't political.

Nonbinary Riley would also undoubtedly impact their ticket sales and result in transphobic rhetoric surrounding Inside Out 2. After all, The Little Mermaid got review-bombed for including a Black actress as Ariel. Unfortunately, a large portion of Disney's audience seems resistant to the idea of minority characters. The parent company probably wouldn't allow Pixar to take the risk of making the main character from one of the best Pixar movies transgender. The closest they would likely ever come to acknowledging Riley’s trans nonbinary identity in Inside Out 2 is dropping hints like they already have in Inside Out.

Source: ACLU