Call Me By Your Name director already planning a sequel

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

*SPOILERS FOR CALL ME BY YOUR NAME BELOW*

Sequels are normally reserved for blockbuster action flicks, smash-hit comedies and horror flicks that made a billion dollars off a $1,000 budget. But every now and again a director chooses to revisit dramatic material, bringing back beloved characters to re-explore their complexities. Such may be the case with director Luca Guadagnino, who already has ideas for a sequel to his critically acclaimed drama, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.

The movie was recently shown as a gala at the BFI London Film Festival, and the director then sat down to talk to Screen Daily about the prospect of doing a follow-up feature, which would find his lead character, Elio (played by Timothee Chalamet), seven years later, reconnecting with the man he had a love affair with, Oliver (Armie Hammer).

I want to do a sequel because Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel – they are all gems. The texture we built together is very consistent. We created a place in which you believe in the world before them. They are young but they are growing up.

Guadagnino would want the movie to come out in 2020, and though the 17-year-old Elio and the 24-year-old Oliver fall for each other, Guadagnino says the sequel would find Oliver married with kids, and isn’t sure if he would make Elio a gay man.

I don’t think Elio is necessarily going to become a gay man. He hasn’t found his place yet. I can tell you that I believe that he would start an intense relationship with Marzia [Esther Garrel’s character] again.

Though romantic dramas may not be ripe for sequels like superhero movies are, there is a history of directors following characters throughout time as they navigate love and relationships. Richard Linklater did a tremendous job with the BEFORE trilogy, which he worked on with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, who we saw meet in BEFORE SUNRISE, saw them reunite in BEFORE SUNSET, and as a married couple in BEFORE MIDNIGHT. Maybe CMBYN could follow the same pattern, with Chalamet and Hammer reprising their roles.

There may be cause for the movie to have a follow-up, as the movie currently stands as a major Oscar contender, with Chalamet and Hammer in contention for acting awards, Guadagnino for best director and the movie itself a serious contender for best picture. The movie is being hailed as a new BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN of sorts, as a story about two men, neither exactly gay, having a passionate relationship.

I have yet to see CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, but all the positive buzz out of festivals and from critics makes it a can’t miss of 2017. There are all the big ticket items for the fall/winter season, like THOR and STAR WARS, but CMBYN is up there on my list of smaller films to check out. Maybe there is ripe material for a sequel, but I can’t be for certain. All I know is we may have to start preparing ourselves to say "Academy Award-nominee Armie Hammer."

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME hits theaters November 24.