Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell showed up at CinemaCon this week in Las Vegas to promote their upcoming romantic comedy, “Anyone but You.”
The project was announced in January 2023, with production taking place in Australia. Paparazzi photos from the set sent the internet into a tizzy, with fans speculating about Sweeney and Powell’s on-screen chemistry.
Sweeney and Powell unveiled first footage from the project at CinemaCon, dishing out details about the much-anticipated film in a series of interviews and on stage.
Here’s what we know so far about “Anyone but You”:
The cast is small but mighty
With Sweeney and Powell leading “Anyone but You,” their on-screen romance will be the center of the film. However, there are some other high-profile names comprising the cast, including fellow rom-com star Dermot Mulroney, Alexandra Shipp, Rachel Griffiths and Michele Hurd. Additional cast members include GaTa, Bryan Brown, Darren Barnet, Hadley Robinson and Joe Davidson.
Will Gluck directed the film
The Golden Globe-nominated director Will Gluck returned to his roots for “Anyone but You.” Gluck is known for helming early 2010s romantic comedies such as “Easy A” with Emma Stone and Penn Badgley and “Friends With Benefits” with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.
The film will be released on Dec. 15
Sony has announced that the film will premiere in theaters in mid-December.
The story is a (loose) adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays
The synopsis of “Anyone but You” reads: “A modernization of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado about Nothing.’ When college arch-nemeses reunite years after graduation for a destination wedding, they pretend to be a couple for their own personal reasons. But through pretending, they actually fall in love.” Shakespeare’s 16th century comedy centers on two romances that emerge when a group of soldiers arrives in town.
The plot will follow an “enemies to lovers” trope
Sweeney and Powell revealed at CinemaCon that the film is about “two people that hate each other,” which is hinted at in the title of the movie.
“Sydney plays a character [who is] a real nightmare,” Powell told the audience, to which Sweeney rebutted that Powell’s character is an “asshole.” Sweeney continued, “What better place to put a nightmare and an asshole than on the other side of the world in the most romantic setting imaginable?”
Despite the genre, “Anyone but You” is R-rated
While romantic comedies are almost synonymous with the PG-13 rating, “Anyone but You” is being teased as racier than most of the genre fare. After catching a glimpse of brief footage from the film, Screen Rant revealed that the clips showcased “a lot of nudity” from both Sweeney and Powell’s characters throughout.
The chemistry between the actors was apparent during CinemaCon, with the two sharing flirtatious banter in front of fans. When addressing the audience about their attendance, Powell joked that he and Sweeney didn’t mind appearing because they “love seeing ourselves on the big screen.” Sweeney then replied, “Oh, please, Top Gun,” referring to a nickname she has for the “Maverick” star, to which he replied, “I love when she calls me that.”
Speculation about the extent of the stars’ relationship erupted on Twitter and TikTok after clips from their interviews at CinemaCon circulated on social media. Despite the rumors, both Sweeney and Powell were reportedly in relationships at the time of the convention, with Sweeney recently engaged to Jonathan Davino. Following the viral footage that was released on Monday, People magazine reported that Powell and his girlfriend, Gigi Paris, secretly broke up weeks ago.
