Is Jacob Elordi's On Swift Horses a new queer classic? Maybe so!

On Swift Horses, the upcoming Sony Pictures Classics film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, Sasha Calle, and Kat Cunning, might be the next classic queer film to enter the zeitgeist.

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Set in the 1950s, the period film tenderly explores the challenges that queer people faced during that era. Muriel (Edgar-Jones) settles into her heteronormative life with Lee (Poulter), but his chaotic gambler of a brother, Julius (Elordi), presents an alternative way of life that Muriel can't help but feel attracted to. "It's all luck, isn't it? We're all just a hair's breadth from losing everything all the time," a character says in the trailer for On Swift Horses.

On Thursday, March 27, Out attended as screening that was followed by a panel with individuals attached to the project discussing the Elordi-starring queer film.

"I thought the relationship between Muriel and Julius was so unique," director Daniel Minahan said. "They say romantic stories are only as good as the things that are keeping them apart, and this had such a unique drive to it."

Producer Peter Spears agreed that he'd never seen "a story that looked at queer relationships in quite this way," and was particularly struck with what can be vaguely referenced (to avoid spoilers) as a "bulletin board scene." After reading the book that the film is based on, screenwriter Bryan Kass said that he thought about the scene for weeks. "That's a good clue that [it is] something that could be very cinematic."

Cunning, who plays Gail in the film, shared their joy at being a part of this film as a nonbinary person.

"I think everyone in this story is living in an era where it's not totally okay to be who you are and the fact is, regardless, people are who they are," the actor remarked. "One of the scenes that really got me is when Daisy has a moment in the mirror, sort of playing with her presentation and her gender for just a fleeting moment. It's not even a cornerstone of the plot, but it's a moment where you get to see her really question who she is and explore that."

Cunning added, "I was drawn to it because it's so lyrically, beautifully written with all of those nuances. As progressive as we are in film these days, we still are kind of stuck in tropes of what a queer person looks like, and what they do. The script really felt like it lived between those lines while having the restriction of the era."

Minahan also appreciates that the film isn't "a victim story. It's this story of Americana. Each of these characters is pursuing this different life. Normally in this narrative, the queer people are tragic and it ends badly for them. In this one, it ends in hope. I thought that was really refreshing."

When Muriel and Lee head to California, she's propelled into "into a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and exploring a love she never dreamed possible," reads the official description.

On Swift Horses harkens back to some bonafide queer classics like Carol and Brokeback Mountain, but it's quite refreshing to watch a story about both men, women, and the confusing attractions that live between anyone who's had to suppress their identities. Without getting into too many spoilers: Get ready for some chaotic bisexuality.

The film also juxtaposes queerness with the thrill and danger of gambling, exploring the high-stake parallels of a wager and acting on your attractions in the 1950s, which is a feeling that still persists today for many people.

On Swift Horses premieres April 25 in theaters.