Guess which A-lister is going gay-for-pay in the next film by the director of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ – Queerty
Now here’s a mystery you don’t need to be the world’s greatest detective to solve.
As reported by Above The Line, British beauty Daniel Craig is attached to star in an upcoming film from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino. And it just so happens to be an adaptation of William S. Burroughs short novel, Queer, which is… well, very queer!
Originally written in the early 1950s, and then not published until 1985—because of the gay stuff—Queer is the story of a man named Lee (whom Craig will presumably play), fighting addiction and living in Mexico City among a number of young, broke American ex-pats. “Self-conscious and insecure,” Lee finds himself courting a recently discharged American Navy serviceman many years his junior, while on the hunt for a transcendental drug known as Yage.
Lee is said to be a fictionalized version of the author himself, and a follow-up to his first-person debut novel, Junkie. Burroughs is best known for writing Naked Lunch, which was highly controversial upon its 1959 release, but has gone on to be considered one of the seminal works of the Beat Generation.
Of course, this is far from the first time Craig has gone gay for a role. Fans of the 007 series will never forget the homoerotic scene in Skyfall, in which Craig’s Bond implies he might be bi. And then there’s his other crime-solving character, Benoit Blanc, of the Knives Out films. Viewers have had their suspicions about Blanc from the jump, but after the sequel Glass Onion showed him living with another man (a very fun little cameo we won’t spoil here), writer/director Rian Johnson confirmed the detective is “obviously” queer.
Related: Daniel Craig loves gay bars and hey, we can relate
Beyond that, Craig really has ben fanning the flames of thirst of late. In a cinematic new ad for Belvedere Vodka released last month, the actor is scene dancing around the halls of a Parisian hotel in a cute necklace and black tank top. The spot had the internet in a tizzy, with some saying it gave off “funky, leather daddy vibes,” while others thought the vibes were distinctly “butch lesbian.” In short, basically everyone is picking up what Craig is putting down.
(Quick side note: Craig is married to Rachel Weisz—The Mummy, The Favourite—an actress who is equally adept at courting the adoration of folks from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum.)
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Anyway, this is all very exciting, and Guadagnino feels like a great fit for the material. Between Call Me By Your Name, A Bigger Splash, and this year’s horror-romance Bones And All, the Italian filmmaker really has a knack for queer (and queer-adjacent) stories featuring complex characters and a really well-defined sense of place.
Guadagnino’s next film, Challengers, is a romantic sports comedy, due out next year, starring Zendaya, West Side Story‘s Mike Faist, and The Crown‘s Josh O’Conner. Set in the world of professional tennis, the movie will reportedly feature a queer love story as well, so we’ll be anxiously awaiting that one.
Related: That ‘Call Me By Your Name’ sequel might still happen–but will alleged cannibal Armie Hammer star???
Though Guadagnino has any number of projects in various stages of development, it’s believed Queer will be his follow-up to Challengers, and the Craig casting feels like a good sign things are moving forward quickly. As Above The Line coyly reports, they’re “hearing” that one of the young stars of Outer Banks may play the object of Lee’s affection. But that hit Netflix drama has quite a large cast of eligible bachelors, so which one ti could be remains a mystery….
Someone needs to get Benoit Blanc on that case!
By the way, here’s a quick overview of some of the male stars from Outer Banks—you know, in case you want to start doing a little detective work yourself: