Lena Waithe is making history as the first gay character in the history of Disney. She will voice the character Officer Specter, a Cyclops cop in Onward.
According to Yahoo News, although Waithe’s character only appears once Officer Specter enters the scene when two brothers, Ian and Barley are traveling to the magical mountains. While the brothers were plotting, they noticed one-eyed Specter and her faun sidekick, Officer Gore (Ali Wong), who pull the boys over. Not wanting to be escorted home, Ian casts a masking spell that temporarily disguises him and Barley as Colt. The brothers then listen as “Officer Bronco” complains about his girlfriend’s kids and the difficulty of being the new guy in their mom’s life which Officer Specter agrees with, saying: “My girlfriend’s daughter got me pulling my hair out,” but suggests that the best thing they can do is try to be there for them.
In an interview Onward producer, Kori Rae says, “The scene, when we wrote it, was kind of fitting and it opens up the world a little bit, and that’s what we wanted.”
Director Dan Scanlon added that they wanted the movie to represent today’s world, “It’s a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world.”
Waithe took to Instagram to show her pride,
In a post she shares, a story, “Waithe breaks ground for portraying the first clearly gay character in Disney/ Pixar history” followed by a rainbow emoji.
Set to premiere March 6, Onward centers around two elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot who go on a magical journey in an effort to spend time with their father who passed away while they were still young. In addition to Lena Waithe, other cast members include Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, and Octavia Spencer.
