Fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford is set to direct his first film in almost a decade, and it’s going to be the next gay obsession.
The openly gay A Single Man director is helming and writing an adaptation of the Anne Rice novel Cry To Heaven, and it's also going to star gay icon Adele and some of your fave trans actors.
The movie, about a Venetian noble and a rival castrato singer who are both trying to succeed in the world of opera, is already in preproduction in London and Rome. While we don’t know a lot about the film yet, if it’s anything like the book, it will be full of betrayal, gay love, revenge, and plenty of melodrama.
But what do we know about the movie, what clues does the book give us about what the film will contain, and who is starring in it?
What is ‘Cry To Heaven’ about?
We don’t have an official synopsis for the film yet, but the novel is set against the backdrop of 18th-centruy Italian opera and follows the intertwining lives of Guido Maffeo, a celebrated opera singer who was castrated when he was a young peasant boy, and Tonio Treschi, a Venetian nobleman forced to become a castrato by his exiled brother, Carlo. When Tonio is sent to study with Guido, the two men enter into a complex romantic and sexual relationship while also seeking revenge against Carlo.
Add in the unique position of the castrati who were lusted after by both men and women, as well as themes around identity, sexuality, and significant age-gap relationships, and you’re looking at a very gay-centric story.
What is a castrato?
In Cry To Heaven, both main characters are castrato singers, but what does that mean? A castrato is a male singer who underwent castration to retain his higher-pitched singing voice that would have been equivalent to a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. This procedure was usually done to boys when they were 8 to 10 years old and would keep their voices in the prepubescent range. The practice started in the 1500s, and its popularity started waning in the 19th century when it was largely phased out.
Who is starring in 'Cry to Heaven'?
The film will not only reunite Ford with Colin Firth and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who have both starred in two of his previous films, but will also feature Adele in her first acting role and will have some excellent LGBTQ+ representation.
Both trans actors Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) and Lux Pascal (Pedro Pascal’s sister) are starring alongside Nicholas Hoult, Ciarán Hinds, George MacKay, Mark Strong, Paul Bettany, Owen Cooper, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Josephine Thiesen, Thandiwe Newton, Theodore Pellerin, Daryl McCormack, Cassian Bilton, and Hauk Hannemann.
Is 'Cry To Heaven' based on a book?
The upcoming Cry To Heaven movie is based a novel by Anne Rice, who also famously penned Interview with the Vampire. The book was published in 1982 and was a commercial flop at the time, receiving mixed reviews with some critics enjoying its eroticism and sexual tension and others thinking it was melodramatic with overwrought dialogue.
When will it premier?
Cry To Heaven will start filming in January 2026, but while there is no word yet on when it will premiere, it is predicted to have a fall 2026 release date.
Reed Birney as Hank Grant and Kieron Moore as Aaron Eagle in Blue Film.Fusion Entertainment
Kieron Moore as Aaron Eagle in Blue Film. Fusion Entertainment 
Reed Birney as Hank Grant in Blue Film.Fusion Entertainment
Kieron Moore as Aaron Eagle in Blue Film. Fusion Entertainment 
Reed Birney as Hank Grant in Blue Film.Fusion Entertainment
Director Elliot Tuttle at the premiere of Blue Film at 2025 NewFest at SVA Theater in New York City.Rob Kim/Getty Images
The official poster for Blue Film.
