If you didn’t know who Paul Mescal was before his Academy Award nomination for the film “Aftersun,” or Andrew Scott before his turn as the Hot Priest in “Fleabag,” it’s safe to assume you’ve now had time to incorporate both their names into your understanding of popular culture. And soon you’ll see them together in “Strangers,” the latest from gay director Andrew Haigh (“Weekend”). It’s based on the 1987 novel by Taichi Yamada, and it concerns a man (Scott) who visits his childhood home to discover that his long-dead parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) are there, looking the same as they did in his childhood. There’s also a neighbor involved (Mescal) and they may or may not be romantically involved (they are in the novel, but the neighbor was a woman). Still in production, we’re rooting for this unusual fantasy drama to adapt its big-screen self in the queerest way possible.
Emma Corrin dives into ‘Deadpool 3’
Emma Corrin drew your attention as Princess Diana on “The Crown” and played the longsuffering wife to Harry Styles’ gay cop in last year’s period British drama “My Policeman.” Then they added Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” to their list of upcoming projects (and were the first nonbinary cover model of American “Vogue”). Now Corrin has signed on to their biggest gig yet, “Deadpool 3.” The Ryan Reynolds-starring Marvel franchise chugs along, winking all the way, adding Hugh Jackman to the mix reviving Wolverine yet again, with Corrin as a villain. Which villain? Doing what sort of harm and to whom? No one’s talking, yet, as Marvel plot details are kept secret for as long as possible. So as long as we’re speculating and hoping for some extra vicious representation infusing the MCU, let’s think big bad glamourqueer who embodies opulence, owning everything and getting away with more. It’s never too much to ask.
JoJo Siwa: Scream Queen
JoJo Siwa is checking into the horror hotel. Well, make that a horror Airbnb. She’ll soon star opposite “Little Fires Everywhere” actor Jade Pettyjohn in the slasher film “All My Friends Are Dead” from “Saw 3D” writer-turned-director Marcus Dunstan, and it’s set in what’s quickly becoming a scary movie go-to location: the spooky Airbnb (see: “Knock At the Cabin,” “Barbarian”). It’s about a group of friends attending a music festival and then, one by one, they begin to die based on their connection to one of the seven deadly sins. Yes, “Se7en” already did that 30 years ago, but was anyone in the film’s sure-to-be-all-Gen Z cast born then? Nope. Shooting gets underway this spring so tuck it away in your horror wish list for a probable 2024 release. And obviously, we have no idea if JoJo will be the one assigned the usual “final girl” role, but she’s already been a part of “Dance Moms” and had a feud with Candace Cameron Bure, so she’s well-trained for scary situations.
‘Cocaine Bear’ star Aaron Holliday is going to ‘Crush It’
By this point you’ve seen “Cocaine Bear” because you saw M3GAN because you are queer (do not ask us to explain ourselves, you know what we mean or you don’t). And that means you noticed up-and-comer Aaron Holliday as the funniest and most sensitive member of a bumbling knife gang who runs into the titular bear. Mr. Holliday is queer and has a few more projects on the horizon. One is a horror film — every actor has to be in a horror film, those are the rules —called “For The Night” co-starring Odessa A’zion (“Hellraiser”), and, more to the point, an indie coming-of-age drama called “Crush It,” from writer-director Azure Valencia, about the nature of queer masculinity and the straight fathers who can’t quite understand the differences their sons present. And that is the moral of Hollywood: all it takes is a breakout role in a hit movie about a bear that eats cocaine to set a young actor on their way.
Romeo San Vicente’s friends are all fully alive and drop dead gorgeous.