Words: Ben Midler

If you’ve been patiently anticipating further news of a Call Me By Your Name sequel, you’re not going to like where director Luca Guadagnino stands on it now.

Straight in, no lube – Posh directing Spice World 2 and RuPaul doing her own makeup… these are more likely than a Call Me By Your Name sequel. 

There are a plethora of reasons sequels get delayed or just dissolve into vapid thin air in Hollywood; they usually revolve around money and scheduling. Now, money matters is one thing, but the ripples of a global pandemic and allegations of cannibalism plaguing your big star is another. 

In an interview with Deadline, Luca Guadagnino flat out said he’s moving on from any remnant of a sequel to the 2017 gay romp (for clarity, we said ‘gay romp’, he didn’t). 

Guadagnino said he has sidelined the project, which comes in the wake of shocking allegations of cannibalism against star Armie Hammer. The outlet described Guadagnino as having “moved on” from the film. 

The Italian filmmaker said: “The truth of the matter is, my heart is still there.

“But I’m working on [another] movie now, and I’m hopefully going to do Scarface soon, and I have many projects and so will focus on this side of the Atlantic and the movies I want to make.”

When news of a sequel started doing the rounds in Hollywood in 2018, James Ivory, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Call Me By Your Name said he “wouldn’t be involved” in a follow-up film. And although Guadagnino was reportedly on the hunt for a new writer, coronavirus came along and fucked that.

Then, of course, the star of the original film Armie Hammer fielded allegations of emotional and sexual abuse – claims which he strongly denies. And if you haven’t read those alleged cannibalistic DMs yet, don’t. Screenshots from earlier this year appear to show Hammer referring to himself as “100% cannibal” when it comes to oral sex.

We’re all for gobbling flesh, but there are limits. 

All in all, Guadagnino had bitten off more than he can chew with Call Me By Your Name 2, and with its PR nightmare, even Edina Monsoon would struggle to glitter this turd.