Good news for fans of Fellow Travelers: We’ve got another another epic, sexy, historical gay romance on the way!
The upcoming drama movie On Swift Horses is said to be a tale of “queer outsiders” in 1950s America, boasting an impressive cast—including Euphoria hunk Jacob Elordi—and directed by Daniel Minahan, whose impressive TV credits include Game Of Thrones, Six Feet Under, and the first two episodes of Fellow Travelers.
The project first piqued our interest when co-star Diego Calva (known for the 2022 Hollywood epic Babylon) revealed he’d be sharing some “pretty hot scenes” with Elordi—okay, say no more, we’re sold!
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But, ahead of On Swift Horses‘ world premiere this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival, Vanity Fair has an exciting first-look feature, and it sounds like this movie’s going to be even more gay than we realized!
Adapted from a 2019 book of the same name by Shannon Pufahl, the film is described as an examination of “self-discovery and connection for LGBTQ+ people at a time when they had to be taken in secret.”
As the Korean War comes to an end in 1953, veteran Julius (Elordi) returns home without much of an idea of where he’s headed. He hitchhikes his way across California to stay with his brother Lee (We’re The Millers‘ Will Poulter), where he’ll meet his sister-in-law Muriel (Twisters‘ Daisy Edgar-Jones) for the first time.
“From the moment Muriel and Julius lock eyes, there’s a spark,” writes VF‘s David Canfield, though it sounds like it’s not immediately clear to either of them—or the audience—what that spark means might mean. Is it an attraction? Suspicion? The knowing glances of a shared secret?
Though the piece comes up just shy of saying it out loud, it sounds like Muriel might be queer, and it’s her encounter with her brother-in-law that inspires her to confront her truth for the first time. Not long after, she and her husband move to San Diego in search of their American Dream, but it’s her connection to a beguiling new neighbor (In The Summers‘ Sasha Calle) that pushes her journey along.
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Meanwhile, Elordi’s Julius heads to Las Vegas, where he’ll make a living catching cheaters at a local casino—and working as a sex worker on the side. It’s there that he meets Henry (Calva) and the two begin a secret romance, living in a motel and even hustling together.
Canfield writes that the actors “develop a steamy sexual chemistry that includes several rich, emotional, and explicit love scenes,” which certainly jibes with what Calva had teased way back in spring 2023. Though we have to laugh at the way Elordi describes his co-star—as “a real cool customer”—almost as if to assure audiences that he’s straight, even if his character might not be.
What Joaquin can't do someone else definitely can….
— Sunday Scout Savea (@Sundayscout28) September 6, 2024
“What Joaquin [Phoenix] can’t do someone else definitely can…,” one X user jokes, referring to the fact that the actor recently bailed on a explicit gay romance period piece, leaving director Todd Haynes and production company Killer Films—who also produced On Swift Horses—without a star.
This certainly isn’t the first time Elordi’s leaned into his queer appeal for a role. He also appeared in the quirky, dark crime story He Went That Way opposite Zachary Quinto, which seemed to play up some homoerotic tension between the two, and you already know how things went down in Saltburn. We still can’t look at a bathtub drain without thinking of him…
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Vanity Fair notes he began filming On Swift Horses immediately after production wrapped on Priscilla, where he played the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. Elordi says he was inspired by a different idol this time around: Paul Newman.
“I just watched Paul Newman’s movies and tried to build a voice around the way that he spoke, and movement around the way he moved—particularly in Hud, because he has a great sensitivity in his steely output there,” the actor shares. Maybe he watched the Western Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, too, which we still maintain is a gay romance!
In any event, it sure sounds like On Swift Horses should scratch that Fellow Travelers itch, both in its mature embrace of sex scenes and in its depiction of gay characters who have to repress their true selves, yet still manage to find camaraderie in one another in midcentury America.
“This story is wonderfully queer,” Edgar-Jones shares. “[Director Daniel Minahan] was really helpful in guiding that and making sure that we were also being authentic to that period and that experience.”
There’s no word yet on when On Swift Horses might hit theaters or streaming platforms, but we can expect to hear more—including reviews and audience reactions—after it debuts in Toronto on September 7, so stay tuned!
For now, we’ll hold you over with some photos from Diego Calva’s Instagram, because he sure is fun to look at!
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