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This upcoming zombie movie has Cheyenne Jackson, Margaret Cho & possibly the gayest cast ever

By Cameron Scheetz July 18, 2024 at 5:00pm
Image Credits: Instagram, @cheyennejackson (left) | Margaret Cho via Netflix / Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet (right)

It’s nothing new to say that the gays love their horror movies—it’s a truth well-documented on this very site that the genre historically features plenty of allegories for the LGBTQ+ experience.

So, we take it if you’re reading this, you might be familiar with the name George A. Romero, a.k.a. “The Godfather Of Zombies.” Starting with 1968’s Night Of The Living Dead, the filmmaker basically created the zombie subgenre as we know it and revolutionized horror with his movies that blended scares with social commentary.

Well, as Deadline reports, the late, legendary director’s daughter, Tina Romero, is now getting ready to make her first zombie movie—and it’s going to be a horror-comedy with an all-star, all-queer cast.

Sometimes nepotism is good!

Titled Queens Of The Dead, Romero’s feature film debut (co-written by comedian Erin Judge) will follow in her father’s footsteps to tell the story of a zombie apocalypse. Only, this one will find its way to Brooklyn, New York, where a drag show is taking the stage at a local gay bar

Per Deadline, the official synopsis is such: “The story follows an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies who must put aside their personal dramas and use their unique skills to combat the brain-thirsty undead when a zombie apocalypse breaks out during their drag show in Brooklyn.”

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Okay, color us intrigued!! Thanks to the groundwork laid by George A. Romero, “zombie movies” have such well-recognized tropes that there are plenty of ways to have fun with and subvert them. And, outside of provocateur Bruce LaBruce’s explicit adult film L.A. Zombie or his oddball art film Otto; Or, Up With Dead People, we haven’t really seen somewhere bring a queer lens to the genre yet.

The idea of a cast of characters fending for the life while holed up in bar is giving us flashbacks to the final act of Shaun Of The Dead—which is a good thing because that movie is amazing (Remember when they fight the zombies to the tune of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”? Maybe we get something like that, but with a Kylie Minogue song instead!)

Meet The Cast Of Queens Of The Dead

Anyway, we haven’t even gotten to the best part, which is the cast! Romero has assembled quite the ensemble for Queens Of The Dead—it’s essentially a “who’s who” of LGBTQ+ stars, all of whom have been popping off in notable projects of late.

Per the announcement, the following four icons sound like they’re set for the lead roles (though no idea yet what roles they’ll be playing, exactly.):

There’s Katy O’Brian, who just made a huge splash in this year’s sapphic thrill ride Love Lies Bleeding as a bodybuilder with some Hulk-like anger issues, and can currently be seen in blockbuster sequel Twisters.

And then there’s living legend Margaret Cho, who was a centerpiece of Netflix‘s queer comedy documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, and who’s appeared in a number of great, gay projects of late, like Fire Island, Cora Bora, and Hacks.

Plus, Atypical‘s Brigette Lundy-Paine is set to star, who recently blew us all away in a completely different kind of horror movie, this summer’s buzzy head-trip, I Saw The TV Glow.

And, finally, Queens Of The Dead will co-star one of our favorite (literal) daddies: Cheyenne Jackson, the Broadway-trained multi-hyphenate known for his roles in 30 Rock, American Horror Story, and this summer’s upcoming video game adaptation Borderlands. (He also just landed a role in the Pasadena Playhouse’s La Cage Aux Folles later this year!)

But wait, there’s (so, so much) more: Deadline also announced that the cast will be rounded out by RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9‘s Nina West, Pose‘s “Mother Elektra” herself Dominique Jackson, Fire Island scene-stealer Tomás Matos, recent Dishin’ It guest & National Anthem star Eve Lindley, this year’s Mean Girls musical’s Jaquel Spivey, Bros‘ Becca Blackwell, No Hard Feelings’ Quincy Dunn-Baker, Black Panther‘s Shaunette Renée Wilson, and Wednesday‘s Riki Lindhome.

So. Many. Faves.

Re-Animating The Zombie Movie

In a press statement, Romero said the following about her Queens Of The Dead cast: “This is the cast of my wildest dreams. In a movie about survival, you gotta love and root for the survival crew. Every single person in this ensemble brings such a special and specific flavor -both on and off screen. The result is truly a magic sauce.”

On social media, Katy O’Brian shared the news, hailing the script as one of the “coolest, funniest” she’s ever read. She added that she’s “so proud of Tina Romero for keeping her father’s legacy alive while adding her own twist.”

So there you have it: If you were worried the zombie movie might’ve died off when George A. Romero passed, the director’s own daughter has re-animated the sub-genre and is pumping some fresh, queer life into it.

Based on co-writer Erin Judge’s Instagram post, it sounds like production has already wrapped on the film, so there’s a chance we might be seeing it sooner rather than later. Perhaps even by Halloween season? We horror-loving gays sure will need a good laugh (and jump-scare) this fall!

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One Comment*

  • m

    Looking forward to it.

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