Actor Daniel Craig is set to star in a new film based on William S. Burrough’s 1985 novel, Queer. Luca Guadagnino, the mind behind Bones and All, will head the project. Based on Burrough’s novella Queer, which was originally written between 1951 and 1953 but not published until several decades later in 1985, Craig will likely play the story’s protagonist, William Lee.
Details about who will join Craig in the film are scarce, with rumors being fueled that the director currently has his eyes set on one of the Outer Banks stars to play the character of Allerton. Further details for the project, such as production crew and distribution rights, also remain a mystery at this point, with Guadagnino, who was nominated for an Oscar for his directorial work on Call Me By Your Name, currently in the process of raising financing for the movie.
Prior to Guadagnino’s new project, other adaptations of Burrough’s novel have been attempted. In 2011, Steve Buscemi was set to direct an adaptation of the novel, with Oren Moverman on board as writer. Despite a script reading with Stanley Tucci and Ben Foster at the Sarasota Film Festival, the film was put on the back burner. An earlier adaptation of the novel saw an Erling World opera, Queer, premiere in the United States in 2001.
Queer is a short novel centered around William Lee, telling the story of his life in Mexico City. Representing Burrough’s own life, the novella focuses on the awkward and self-conscious Lee’s experience surviving on part-time jobs and GI Bill benefits. Whilst interacting with American ex-pat college students and bar owners, Lee pursues a young man by the name of Allerton. The character of Allerton is believed to have been based on a discharged Navy serviceman and friend of Burrough’s, whom he met in Mexico City. Queer is said to be a quasi-sequel to his earlier novel, Junkie.
Both Craig and Guadagnino have other projects currently in the works. Craig, who is eager to distance himself from his role as James Bond in several of the Bond films, will return to screens on December 23 as Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. In addition, the actor also recently appeared in a Taika Waititi-directed advertisement for Belvedere Vodka. Guadagnino, on the other hand, has recently wrapped up his latest film, Challengers, starring Zendaya. He currently has the romantic horror film Bones and All in theaters, which tells the story of two cannibal lovers (Taylor Russell as Maren Yearly and Timothée Chalamet as Lee) travelling across the country. According to Deadline, he also is currently working on an Audrey Hepburn biopic. Whilst Rooney Mara is attached to the Apple project, a scribe is still needed.
No date has been set for Queer’s release yet. In the meantime, check out the official trailer for Bones and All below: