Rumours about an Alexander McQueen biopic have been swirling around for years, at least since a feature film was first announced in 2016, with Skins’ Jack O’Connell attached to star (dream casting tbh). Seven years and an acclaimed documentary later, though, we’re yet to see the legendary designer’s life dramatised on the big screen. Soon, that might change.
Reportedly, the long-awaited McQueen film is still in the works at Pathé, with the original producer, Damian Jones, still involved. There have been some changes, though. Back in 2016, the film was set to be directed by Andrew Haigh, the British filmmaker who went on to make this year’s All of Us Strangers (the one with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott). However, he’s no longer at the helm.
Now, the McQueen biopic will instead be directed by Oliver Hermanus, according to an interview with departing Pathé UK head Cameron McCracken in Screen Daily. Hermanus is previously known for 2022’s Living – a take on Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru – and Beauty, which won the Queer Palm Award at Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
Announcing his retirement, McCracken says that he won’t leave existing projects in the lurch, noting that the “long-gestating” Alexander McQueen project is currently ”headed towards production”. Unfortunately, that’s as close as we’re going to get to a projected release date for the time being.
What we do know is that Hermanus has to finish work on an adaptation of the gay romance The History of Sound first, which is set to star Paul Mescal alongside Josh O’Connor. Do all roads lead to Paul Mescal as Lee McQueen? Is Jack O’Connell still in line to play the role? We can dream.
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