A24 acquires Luca Guadagnino’s LGBTQIA+ drama starring Daniel Craig

Luca Guadagnino's highly anticipated film Queer was picked up by A24 for distribution.

In a statement, director and lead actor Daniel Craig called the upcoming LGBTQIA+ drama “a labor of love and we couldn't be more excited that our film has found a home,” before describing the studio as “daring, vital and groundbreaking.”

“We are honored to finally bring Burroughs' legendary novel to life on screen for the first time, and we are immensely grateful and excited to present it alongside our valued collaborators,” they continued. “We couldn't ask for better partners on this journey.”

Set in Mexico City in the 1940s, the James Bond star plays Lee, a man on the run from a drug raid in New Orleans. In Mexico, he develops an obsession with Allerton, a discharged American Marine.

Allerton is played by Drew Starkey, who is best known for his supporting roles in films such as All the best, Simon (2018), Hellraiser (2022) and The other Zoey (2023). Since 2020 he has played Rafe in Netflix's mysterious teen drama Outer banks.

Queer is based on the 1985 short romance of the same name by William S. Burroughs, which deals with themes such as homosexuality, sex and drug abuse.

According to Guadagnino, the film will contain “numerous and quite scandalous” sex scenes between Craig and Starkey.

The ensemble also includes Jason Shwartzman as Frank Cochan, Lesley Manville as Alice Cochan, Henry Zaga as Winston Moor, Drew Droege as John Dume, Ariel Schulman as Tom Weston, Colin Bates as Tom Williams, Ronia Ava as Joan and Perla Ambrosini as Lee's mother.

Queer will mark the acting debut of singer-songwriter Omar Apollo, whose role in the film has not yet been announced.

It is also Guadagnino’s second film of the year after Challenger, starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist. The sports dramedy received widespread praise upon its release and was praised for its queer subtext.

The director is also known to LGBTQIA+ audiences for his Oscar-nominated drama Call me by your name.