Major LGBTQ+ films coming in 2025, from Olivia Colman’s new queer drama to a gay zombie horror
2025 is set to be a great year for LGBTQ+ film. (@SydneySweeney/Bleecker Street/Mark de Blok)
With 2025 just getting started, we’re anticipating another year of fantastic LGBTQ+ movies.
2024 proved to be a massive year for queer representation – including All of Us Strangers, Challengers and Crossing – and 2025 already looks like another packed year of cinema with seductive period dramas, a thrilling drag queen zombie horror and heartwarming rom-coms.
Grab some popcorn and get comfortable – here are the LGBTQ+ movies we’re most excited to see in 2025:
The History of Sound
This upcoming historical romantic drama brings together the internet’s boyfriends Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor for a World War I gay romance. Directed by Oliver Hermanus – who directed three episodes of Nicholas Galitzine’s gay historical drama Mary & George – the film is based on a short story from Ben Shattuck.
The History of Sound will follow the relationship of the two young soldiers Lionel (Gladiator II‘s Mescal) and David (Challengers‘ O’Connor) as they meet in 1916 and then travel together in the summer of 1919 to rural New England where they record folk songs. The film is set to premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The Housekeeper
With a script written by bestselling author Rose Tremain – adapted from her own short story and forthcoming novel – The Housekeeper is a fictionalised telling of the inspiration behind Du Maurier’s classic gothic tale Rebecca. Pulp Fiction’s Uma Thurman and Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor will be helming this evocative romance set in the wild landscape of Cornwall.
Danni (Thurman) is a housekeeper working for the wealthy Lord DeWithers (Anthony Hopkins) when she meets novelist Daphne Du Maurier (Dynevor). This 1930s secret lesbian romance is bound to include twists and turns with mounting desire, deceit, ambition, fear and legacy. The film is expected to be released at the end of 2025.
Jimpa
Mother Olivia Colman is mothering again in the upcoming film Jimpa. In the Australian drama, Heartstopper‘s Colman plays Hannah, the mother of a trans nonbinary teenager (Aud Mason-Hyde). When the pair visit Hannah’s estranged gay dad ‘Jimpa’ (Conclave‘s John Lithgow) in Amsterdam with the hopes of staying for a year abroad, she is made to reconsider all that she believed about her past and parenting.
With acting powerhouses Colman and Lithgow and a breakthrough role for Mason-Hyde, Jimpa is one of our most anticipated films for 2025. Directed by Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’s Sophie Hyde, Jimpa is set to premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and will hopefully have a global release later in the year.
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Gay hairdresser Luis (Tonatiuh) is stuck in an Argentinian prison in 1981 after being convicted of public indecency. He gets through every day by imagining movie plots starring classic screen actress Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). One role Luis dreams up is Spider-Woman, where she kills her prey with a kiss. Luis’ daydreaming is abruptly interrupted by a new cellmate, political prisoner Valentin Arregui Paz (Star Wars star Diego Luna), with whom he forms an unlikely bond.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is an adaption of the 1992 stage musical by playwrights Terrence McNally, John Kander and Fred Ebb, which is in turn based on the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig. This will also be the second film adaptation of the novel. There is currently no official release date but the film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Light Fantastic
Inspired by a true story, The Light Fantastic is set in the world of Blackpool’s professional ballroom dance. Thirty-something gay firefighter Jason (War Horse’s Jeremy Irvine) dreams of dancing and with the support of his friend Shona and ultra-traditional instructor Reynolds (An Ideal Husband‘s Rupert Everett), he’s pirouetting towards his goal.
The film also features queer actors Femme’s Nathan Steward-Jarrett and Bad Education‘s Layton Williams. The film’s dance choreography will be overseen by Mark and Shirley Ballas, the dynamic mother-son duo who are legendary figures in the world of dance.
M3GAN 2.0
Gay icon M3GAN is back and badder than ever! Many of the original crew and cast are returning for the M3GAN sequel; Gerard Johnstone returned to direct and Akela Cooper returned to write the script while Allison Williams and Violet McGraw reprise their roles as Gemma and Cady.
The plot of M3GAN 2.0 remains under wraps but it follows the first film, M3GAN, where nine-year-old Cady (McGraw), moves in with her roboticist aunt Gemma (Williams) after being tragically orphaned. To prevent Cady from getting lonely, Gemma develops a child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by AI. At first, Cady’s loyal companion, M3GAN begins to stop at nothing to protect Cady.
M3GAN 2.0 is set to be released in cinemas on June 27 2025.
On Swift Horses
Married couple Lee (The Bear’s Will Poulter) and Muriel (Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones) are ready to start a new era of their lives. However, when Lee’s (Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi) younger brother arrives he uproots their plans and relationship. With Lee out at work, Julius and Muriel have a chance to explore their queer desires. Julius starts a secret romantic relationship with co-worker Henry (Babylon‘s Diego Calva). While Muriel has her own illicit gay affair with neighbour Sandra (The Flash‘s Sasha Calle).
On Swift Horses is said to be a steamy adaption of Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel of the same name. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is expected to be released widely in 2025.
Queens of the Dead
Zombie horror Queens of the Dead is directed by Tina Romero, daughter of legendary Living Dead creator George A Romero. It includes several Drag Race, Fire Island and Pose stars. The film follows a group of drag queens and frenemies forced to team up when the undead rise and interrupt their Brooklyn warehouse drag show party.
The film’s cast includes Love Lies Bleeding star Katy O’Brian, Fire Island‘s Margaret Cho, I Saw The TV Glow‘s Brigette Lundy-Paine and Behind the Candelabra‘s Cheyenne Jackson. Early images from Queens of the Dead illustrate the film as a glam-gore apocalypse movie as a fresh spin on the classic genre.
Untitled Christy Martin Biopic
Sydney Sweeney is donning the boxing gloves to portray queer boxer Christy Martin in this much-anticipated biopic. Speaking about her casting, Sweeney shared: “I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman — a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring.” Love Lies Bleeding’s Katy O’Brian is Lisa Holeywine, Christy’s boxing rival and eventual romantic partner.
David Michôd’s film will chart the story of Martin as she rose to be one of the most well-known female boxers in 1990s America while facing abuse in her marriage to Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder and jailed for 25 years.
The Wedding Banquet
Fire Island director Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet is a remake of the 1993 Ang Lee queer classic of the same name with James Schamus, who co-wrote the original film, also a co-writer on the upcoming movie.
The romantic comedy will chronicle Min left heartbroken when his boyfriend rejects his marriage proposal. Min then marries his best friend Angela to secure a green card, and in return, he pays for her partner’s IVF treatments. However, when Min’s grandmother arrives from Seoul to throw the ‘couple’ a Korean wedding banquet, their plan begins to unravel.
With an all-star cast – including Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran – put The Wedding Banquet at the top of your 2025 watchlist!
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