Heartstopper star Kit Connor and Elite breakout Manu Ríos are set to star in the queer horror film Rapture alongside Will Poulter.
Playwright Jordan Tannahill directs the film in his feature directorial debut, a film he’s been working on for a while now.
The movie was thought to have died at some point, but was revived and is expected to enter film festival circuits with the three actors fronted as part of the package.
Tannahill is currently involved in his play, Prince Fa**ot, which has been met with wide acclaim. He talked to Them about the play and what inspired it. He also shared some updates on Rapture, revealing that the movie was still on track to be made.
“Rapture is a film that I wrote and will be directing, starring Kit Connor, Will Poulter, and Manu Rios,” he said. Tannahill explained what the movie is about, saying,
“It’s set at a Cistercian monastery in Yorkshire in 1348, the year that the Black Death arrives on what we now call the British Isles.
“It’s about how this order of monks contends with the arrival of this apocalyptic plague and the moral crises that arise therein, but at the heart of it is this deep, passionate relationship between these two young monks who have grown up together. It’s queer body horror.”
Jordan Tannahill Dishes on ‘Rapture’
The director praised the cast and revealed that the film was still in pre-production but aims to start shooting soon.
“I think all three of those actors I mentioned — among some other great performers, some of whom are also queer — are going to give these exciting performances that we haven’t seen from them before,” he said, adding,
“I feel like it’s going to be a juicy film — and hopefully, a pretty terrifying one, too. We’re in the thick of pre-production at the moment, but the hope is to be going into principal photography fairly soon. I’m just really excited to share this story with the world.”
Rapture has been in development since 2023 and was thought to have died because of the duo Hollywood strikes of that year. However, things normalized, and it was back on track.
Filming is set to take place in Hungary later this year, but the release date has to be announced.
Rapture enlists some of the best queer male talent from Europe, and we can’t wait to see what Tannahill and the cast cook up.
Meanwhile, Connor recently wrapped filming the Heartstopper movie, Rios is set to return to Netflix with Breatheless Season 2 on October 31, and Poulter was recently seen in The Bear Season 2 and On Swift Horses.