Love, Simon star Keiynan Lonsdale is set to star in the upcoming LGBTQ+ romantic comedy My Fake Boyfriend.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will also feature Dylan Sprouse and Sarah Hyland and is a collaborative project between BuzzFeed and Lionsgate.
Under the film’s official description, “a young man in a tricky situation, who follows the advice of his unconventional best friend (Sprouse) and uses social media to create a fake boyfriend to keep his awful ex-lover out of his life. But everything backfires when he meets the real love of his life, and breaking up with his fake boyfriend proves hard to do.”
Rose Troche, best know for her work on The L Word, Snowpiercer and Shameless, has been tapped to direct the project.
BuzzFeed’s Head of Studio Richard Alan Reid expressed his excitement about the film in a statement.
“There is no better person to tell this queer love story than Rose Troche, and we’re delighted to partner with Lionsgate to share this story with millennial and Gen Z audiences around the world,” he said.
VP of Co-Productions and acquisition Lauren Bixby echoed similar sentiments about the film, stating: “My Fake Boyfriend has the heart, laughs and talent behind the scenes and in front of the camera that makes this film a genuine win.”
She continued: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with our friends at BuzzFeed on this fun romantic comedy.”
Lonsdale is no stranger to heartwarming and relatable LGBTQ+ films.
The 29-year-old actor won the hearts of moviegoers as the lovable soccer player Bram Greenfield in the 2018 hit Love, Simon.
In a exclusive interview with Gay Times, Lonsdale spoke about the impact of the project – which became the first film by a major Hollywood studio to focus on a gay teenage romance.
“We knew it was going to be really important to people,” Keiynan admitted. “It wasn’t until we actually watched the film – because I guess while we were making it we were just nervous, and everyone’s hopeful that we’re going to get it right and tell this story correctly – so then when we watched it we were like, ‘Oh we did!’
“Every person involved did exactly what they were supposed to do. This movie was clearly supposed to be made, and I knew at that moment that this would help change things for so many people.”
Keiynan also said it’s “100%” time for a queer superhero on the big screen.
“When you have Superman and Batman and all these people that kids look up to and think, ‘Wow, you’re perfect and amazing and a superhero,’ we need to see that very very clearly for a queer character on the big screen.
“Then LGBTQ can know that yeah, you as well, just as these other people, are also larger than life. You can be magical, you can be a superhero.”
Set your calendars because Pride 2022 is going to be full of LGBTQ+ love.
Related: Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph set to produce new LGBTQ+ film.
Latest
