British TV comic Jack Whitehall will star in an upcoming Disney film, playing 'fun, effete’ gay man in The Jungle Cruise.
Whitehall, 30, will star alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Emily Blunt in the big-budget blockbuster, which is set for release next year and could be developed into a franchise.
According to a statement shared with The Sun, Whitehall's character is "hugely effete, very camp and very funny".
"It’s a dream role," the source added.
Set in the 19th Century "when it wasn’t socially acceptable to be gay", the film is being pegged as "a significant turning point” for LGBTIQ+ representation in mainstream films.
However, some fans were less than happy with the casting choice, saying the role should have gone to an actor who identifies as gay.
"Who the hell is Jack Whitehall’s agent, Scarlett Johansson?" One Disney fan wrote on twitter, referencing the recent backlash to Scarlette Johansson's being cast as a trans-masculine thug.
Another wrote: "A straight man is playing a “campy” gay man. How tone deaf can you be?"
