In Disney's "Jungle Cruise," a gay figure causes discussion, and a repentant Trader Sam emerges.

In Disney's "Jungle Cruise," a gay figure causes discussion, and a repentant Trader Sam emerges.

There are some notable guests on this "Jungle Cruise."

While Dwayne Johnson's punny Amazon River captain Frank Wolff and Emily Blunt's pioneering scientist Lily Houghton are central to Disney's action-adventure comedy (now in theatres and on Disney+ via Premier Access), two characters, in particular, stand out in the film based on the famous Disneyland ride.

Jack Whitehall, a British comedian, plays Lily's brother MacGregor Houghton, who is homosexual and comes out in a scene with Wolff (though notably without employing the word "gay").

Meanwhile, Trader Sam, the notorious shrunken head merchant, was recently removed from the Jungle Cruise attraction following backlash over his racist portrayal of Indigenous peoples, In the recreated guise of Mexican actress Veronica Falcón, she reappears onscreen.

Here's how the characters got onboard the "Jungle Cruise," which earned $90 million globally and Disney+ Premiere Access in its first weekend.

MacGregor Houghton reveals his true identity to his Jungle Cruise skipper in a subtle way.

Disney has been chastised for its lack of LGBTQ cinematic representation, as well as for "Beauty and the Beast" and "Onwardblink-and-you'll-miss-it "'s homosexual character moments. Whitehall's MacGregor makes a subtle appearance in a moment with Johnson's Frank in "Jungle Cruise."

In 1917 London society, MacGregor describes how he rejected away three potential engagements to ladies. MacGregor adds, "My interests gladly lie...elsewhere." Frank says as he raises his canteen. "Well, let's go somewhere else."

The term "gay" isn't spoken in the scene that reveals MacGregor's relationship with his sister: spectators discover that MacGregor's surviving family, as well as society, have turned their backs on him "all because of who I love."

The modest scene is Blunt and Johnson's favorite "Jungle Cruise" moment.

"Whether he uttered the term 'gay' or not, it didn't matter," recalls Johnson, a producer on the film. "What truly important was the truth between two people, two human beings, enjoying a drink and talking about the things they cared about, the people they cared about, and who they were."

Producer Hiram Garcia claims that the creators of "Jungle Cruise" never intended to include a gay character in the historical drama. "We had no idea this is where it was headed, the character just developed that way," Garcia adds, insisting that Disney had no say in the matter. "It wasn't a fight; they enjoyed the scene as well."

"Disney would truly do anything to avoid mentioning the word 'gay' in their mainstream material," one Twitter user said of the homosexual character at first.

Another Twitter user said, "The homosexual character in JUNGLE CRUISE is nice and typically correct about stuff." "Spin him off, put him on a roadshow."

Trader Sam has been relaunched as a female character.

Following criticism of the ride's portrayal of Indigenous people, Disney Parks stated in January that it will update the original Disneyland attraction. Disney announced the revamped ride at its California park earlier this month, promising that it will "represent and respect the variety of the world around us."

The cannibalistic Trader Sam has been removed from the attraction, which now concludes at Trader Sam's Lost & Found with the message "Back in 15 minutes, Sam."

However, in the film "Jungle Cruise," a totally different Trader Sam (played by "Ozark" and "Perry Mason" actress Falcón) emerges as the head of a peaceful tribe who joins forces with Frank to defraud unwary tourists.

Garcia claims that Disney had proposed a new Trader Sam from the start. "'This (character) is an area we have always been uncomfortable with,' Disney effectively said. We're trying to find out how to improve it. What version of the story do you want to tell in the movie?' And we had a great time doing it."

The Trader Sam talks, according to Blunt, were "deliberate" with the filmmakers, Disney Studios, and Disney Parks.

"We realized we wanted to keep the ride's whimsy and charm with all the nostalgia, but we also needed to bring it into this current era of what's suitable," Blunt adds. "We had to be attentive to how people wanted to be depicted as well as culturally respectful."

"There are no future plans for Trader Sam at this time," Michele Himmelberg, a spokesman for Disney Parks, said of the redesigned Trader Sam's return to the parks' attractions.