Josh O’Connor is no longer attached to Luca Guadagnino’s new gay drama.
Back in March 2024, Variety reported that the God’s Own Country star was in talks to star in the acclaimed director’s upcoming project, Separate Rooms.
The film, which is based on the novel written by the late Italian author Pier Vittorio Tondelli, will “follow an Italian writer named Leo who is mourning the loss of his boyfriend.”
A month later, it was announced that Dune: Part Two star Léa Seydoux joined the film in an undisclosed role.
Over the last year, additional details on Separate Rooms have been kept under wraps.
However, the film received a shock update on 20 May when O’Connor revealed to Deadline that he was no longer involved with the project.
“Unfortunately, not. Luca’s working all the time. He’s such a busy bee, and rightly so. We’re constantly talking. He may well do it, but unfortunately, it won’t be with me,” The Crown star said.
While O’Connor won’t appear in Guadagnino’s adaptation of Separate Rooms, fans will get to see him in another highly anticipated gay drama, The History of Sound.
Directed by Oliver Hermanus (Mary & George), the film is based on the Pushcart Prize-winning novel from Ben Shattuck, a collection of 12 short stories that are set across three centuries and explores generational patterns of love and loss.
The title story follows two young men in the shadows of WWI who are determined to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen. Lionel (Paul Mescal) and David (O’Connor) begin to log the events whilst falling in love in the process.
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Other stars featured in the drama include Chris Cooper (Little Women), Molly Price (Third Watch), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Hadley Robinson (Moxie), Emma Canning (Dune: Prophecy), Brianna Middleton (The Inheritance) and Gary Raymond (The Cedar Tree).
Earlier this month, Vanity Fair shared a handful of first-look photos of the film, with snapshots depicting Mescal shirtless while immersed in water, O’Connor caught mid-drag on a cigarette, and the pair sharing a quiet, intimate moment.
The History of Sound made its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a nine-minute standing ovation and positive reviews for its sprawling romantic story and O’Connor and Mescal’s electric chemistry.
As of this writing, a general release date for The History of Sound has not been announced.
For more information about the film and its first-look photos, click here.
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