If we know anything about Luca Guadagnino, it's that his penchant for teen romances with twisted and often woeful narratives is holding strong. We've seen him explore heartbreaking queer love in Call Me By Your Name and tender, all-consuming passion (or something like it) in Bones and All. Undoubtedly, his next celluloid foray will voyage down similar streams, with an edgier twist. His next project, as reported by Above the Line, will be an adaptation of the controversial novel by William S Burroughs, Queer which is the sequel to Burroughs' seminal and semi-autobiographical book, Junkie.
Queer is considered a quasi-sequel to the aforementioned, Junkie which was published in 1953. The short novel was reportedly written between 1951 and 1953, though it wasn’t published until 1985 as homosexual themes were considered taboo for readers of the time. Burroughs' Queer is said to be loosely based on his own lived experience in Mexico City as his dependence on heroin started to wean. Burroughs has said that it represents him off heroin.
What is Queer about?
The book follows Lee living in Mexico, wandering the bars aimlessly among expats, surviving on the allowances handed out by the US government following World War II. There, he encounters a young man called Allerton, and his infatuation with him transpires.
Who will star in Queer?
In an unsuspecting announcement, none other than Daniel Craig is attached to the project as Lee. Yes, you heard that right, James Bond's own is shedding his signature suit for undoubtedly less formal threads.
Guadagnino is still searching for an actor to play Allerton, Lee (Craig's) love interest and reportedly has his eyes set on one of the cast members from Netflix's Outer Banks.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long for more of Guadagnino's cinematic inclusions. The director's tennis-based rom-com Challengers, starring Zendaya will be out in August 2023.
If you would like to deep dive into Guadagnino's archive in preparation for Queer, we can help you out.
