Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke to star in gay western

Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke have signed on to Pedro Almodóvar’s new project. The film, titled “Strange Way of Life” is a western and a short, with Almodóvar calling it his “answer to ‘Brokeback Mountain,’” the 2005 film that followed the romance between two cowboys in ‘60s Wyoming.

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In an interview with Indiewire, Almodóvar discussed his new film. He also talked about his history with “Brokeback Mountain” a project that he was meant to direct. “It could be like my answer to ‘Brokeback Mountain,’” he said, discussing a little bit of the plot of the film and some of the characters’ backgrounds. Hawke plays Jake, a sheriff, while Pascal plays Silva, a gunslinger. The pair has a connection and haven’t seen each other in 25 years.

“One of them travels through the desert to find the other,” Almodóvar explains. “There will be a showdown between them, but really the story is very intimate.” While he didn’t say whether the film was a romance or not, the allusions are pretty clear. When asked about it, Almodóvar laughed and wanted to keep it a surprise for viewers. “You can guess,” he said. “I mean, masculinity is one of the subjects of the movie.” So yes, it’s gay.

Almodóvar was meant to direct “Brokeback Mountain” before Ang Lee was attached to the project. “I think Ang Lee made a wonderful movie, but I never believed that they would give me complete freedom and independence to make what I wanted,” Almodóvar said of Hollywood. “Nobody told me that — they said, ‘You can do whatever you want,’ but I knew that there was a limitation.”

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Pedro Almodóvar is an incredibly prolific filmmaker and one of the most influential figures in international cinema. Despite having plenty of opportunities to make a Hollywood film, he’s only made Spanish films. “Strange Way of Life” marks his second English language project. He’s currently working on“A Manual for Cleaning Women,” with Cate Blanchett attached to star.

Ethan Hawke recently starred in “The Black Phone,” where he plays his first villain. He plays The Grabber, a serial killer who terrorizes a community in Colorado by targeting boys. Pedro Pascal is set to star in a variety of important projects, including Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” and HBO’s “The Last of Us.”