Daniel Craig lands lead role in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer adaptation

Virgin Radio

12 Dec 2022, 08:49

Daniel Craig has taken the lead role in the movie adaptation of William S Burroughs 1985 novel, Queer.

According to Deadline, the actor has been brought on by director Luca Guadagnino who is currently trying to raise funds for the project, with Justin Kuritzkes writing the screenplay.

Craig, who recently stepped down as James Bond, would be playing protagonist William Lee, who is described as “self-conscious, insecure”, and finds himself in a hopeless pursuit of desire as he hops from bar to bar in Mexico City. Lee eventually becomes attracted to a young man named Allerton- inspired by the late real-life service man Albert Lewis Marker (who was friends with author Burroughs).

Queer was penned as a sequel to Burroughs' book, Junkie, which was published in 1953. 

This will be the first time Craig has collaborated with Guadagnino in his career, but it’s another major director he can add to the list after working with Rian Johnson, Steven Spielberg, David Fincher and Sam Mendes in the past.

As previously mentioned, Craig had been playing the infamous James Bond for 15 years before stepping down from the role last year.

The actor said he felt like his exit in No Time To Die was right for both the spy franchise and his acting career.

He told the Los Angeles Times Newspaper: "Two things, one for myself and one for the franchise.

"One, for the franchise, was that reset starts again, which (the franchise) did with me. And I was like, 'Well, you need to reset again'. So let's kill my character off and go find another Bond and go find another story. Start at (age) 23, start at 25, start at 30.

"The other was so that I could move on."

There has been no word just yet on who will be replacing him but Bond producers have said they want to “surprise” fans with a “refreshed” 007 as the franchise enters a new era.