Welcome to the era of Henry Golding. The actor, one of the breakout stars of rom-com blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians, has been carefully booking roles in the wake of the film’s success and he’s just lined up a project so perfectly assembled that it seems quite possibly too good to be true. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Golding is set to co-star alongside Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke in Last Christmas, a romance (swoon) directed by Paul Feig. The filmmaker also recently directed Golding in the truly wild thriller A Simple Favor. Might we be witnessing a new actor-director perma-combo in the works, akin to Feig’s relationship with Melissa McCarthy? One can only hope, dream, et cetera.
Not only will Last Christmas be directed by Feig, but it will also be based on a script by Oscar-winning treasure Emma Thompson and English playwright Bryony Kimmings. The details are still under wraps, per T.H.R., but the film will be a holiday romance set in London. That would have been impossible to tell from the cryptic title and all the British accents involved, but thankfully, we now know for certain.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Kimmings let slip a few other details, most importantly that the film is based on the nostalgic, broken-hearted Wham! song of the same name. In addition, George Michael gave the idea for the film his blessing prior to his death in 2016.
Kimmings also revealed that her original draft of the script included a trans lead, inspired by Michael’s advocacy for the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Michael was openly gay. “I tried to slip in some trans people and make sure there was queer politics in there,” Kimmings said in the interview. “I don’t know how much of that remains!”
At the time, Kimmings admitted she had not seen the final version of the screenplay. “I doubt there’ll be a trans lead,” she added. “But I hope that there’s quite an element of queer in there, because you know it’s the story—it’s based on the song, ‘Last Christmas.’”
A release date for Last Christmas has not yet been set (but we imagine it will be released, you know, during the holiday season in the coming years).
