Director Luca Guadagnino doesn’t seem to need a break. After his last film “Bones And All” from 2022, he has two more films in the pipeline, one of which we will even see in theaters this year. On September 14, 2023, the RomCom Challengers will premiere on the big screen, starring Euphoria star Zendaya, Mike Faist (West Side Story) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown). Guadagnino just has a knack for great casts.
But his latest project also sounds promising. How reports that Guadagnino’s new film “Queer” will be filmed in Italy later this month. In addition to “Bond” actors Daniel Craig, Lesley Mannville (“The crown”), Jason Schwartzman (“Asteroid City”) and Henry Zaga (“The Stand”) would now also be the cast of “Outer Banks” and “Hellraiser”. Drew Starkey joined the cast. However, the literary adaptation does not yet have a start date.
What is “queer” about?
Queer is a short story by William S. Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch, and a sequel to his novel Junkie. In the book, Burroughs tells the story of Lee, who leaves his native New Orleans and emigrates to Mexico after a drug bust. There he goes through the bars and clubs of the city and gets to know the former naval soldier Allerton. Lee falls in love with Allerton, but is met with ignorance at first. The two travel to South America together. They want to find and consume the drug Yage. Lee expects it to give him metaphysical experiences and supernatural abilities.
Interspersed with inner monologues, Queer is considered a precursor to Burroughs’ most famous work, Naked Lunch, which was successfully adapted for film by David Cronenberg. Whether Guadagnino can keep up with this masterpiece remains to be seen.
It is not yet certain when “Queer” will be shown in the cinemas. Guadagnino’s “Challengers” will start first this year.