Rocketman will be the first major motion picture to show man-on-man sex scenes.
The film debuted at the Cannes film festival last night and included scenes of men kissing and having sex. At least one of the steamy scenes comes between Elton (played by Taron Egerton) and ex-manager John Reid (Richard Madden).
The scenes’ inclusion ends speculation that the film would be “straight-washed” the same way Bohemian Rhapsody was. The 2018 biopic caught much criticism for depicting Freddie Mercury having sex only with a female lover.
“No Holds Barred”
Scenes of gay romance, especially between men, have been rare in Hollywood.
While Brokeback Mountain broke boundaries (and wasn’t released by a major studio), the scenes between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger were fairly tame compared to the kinds of graphic heterosexual sex scenes regularly seen in R-rated movies.
And based on comments from Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher, Brokeback will look even milder in comparison to what moviegoers will see beginning May 31st.
“[The film] has and always will be the no holds barred, musical fantasy that Paramount and producers passionately support and believe in,” said Fletcher.
