CODA made history at the 94th Academy Awards last weekend winning Best Picture and is one of those movies that audiences cannot get enough of. Once the end credits started to roll, it felt like you never wanted this story about a deaf family running a fishing business to ever end. According to Troy Kotsur, who won Best Supporting Actor for this movie, there is hope for more to come. Kotsur recently gave his thoughts about whether or not the story of CODA will continue with a sequel or a TV spinoff.
According to Variety, Troy Kotsur said that he would be up for a continuation of the film if the same cast was in it. He believes there is the potential to be able to tell more beautiful stories about this endearing family.
If we have the same cast, sure. I’d be up for that. We have such a unique story, and we could tell so many more. We’re a dysfunctional family, right? So out of that dysfunction, you have so many beautiful stories to tell. I’d be up for that.
Sound of Metal’s Paul Raci, Best Supporting Actor winner and a real life CODA himself, has open up before about deaf representation and how deaf actors have to work “five times harder” than hearing actors. With CODA winning the highest honor at the Academy Awards, it would be no surprise for this to be the start of seeing the deaf community represented more. We already saw positive change occur when Kotsur actually had a role in Star Wars The Mandalorian when he played one of the scouts in the first season and worked on the sign language for the movie. Impressively enough, he used the “culture and environment” of the Tusken Raiders to come up with his own signs for those characters!
The Mandalorian is not the only Disney+ show that has represented the deaf community. There is also Disney+’s Hawkeye which fans praise for its “realistic” depiction of the deaf community particularly with new character Maya. Also on Disney+ is the Marvel film Eternals which features the first deaf superhero, Makkari, who possesses superhero strength, speed, and creates cyclones. Whether deaf characters are shown as powerful or dysfunctional, we will be sure to see more of them than ever before.
Best Picture-winner CODA is about a hearing teenage girl growing up with her deaf parents and brother who work in a fishing business. In the course of the film, she has to choose between going after her dreams of going to college or staying behind to continue caring for her family and being an interpreter for them. Considering this film showed us everyday situations like trying to fit in at school, first love, feeling like an outsider, and the deaf community struggling in a hearing world, there are definitely more stories out there to tell with these characters.
Stay tuned with CinemaBlend to get more updates about CODA and any other movies and TV shows. You can currently watch CODA using an Apple TV+ subscription.
