Previously unheard material by George Michael will appear in Last Christmas, a new film by Paul Feig, a representative for the late singer confirmed.
Emma Thompson and comedian Bryony Kimmings are writing the screenplay for the Universal Pictures film, which will also feature Wham!’s 1984 hit of the same name.
Due for release in November 2019, the film will star Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) as seasonally star-crossed lovers living in London. Kate (Clarke) works as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop and continually makes bad decisions. Tom (Golding) “seems too good to be true”, Variety reports.
In an interview with Radio Times, Kimmings said: “When I came on board, George was up for it. He’d already signed something to say yes.”
Saying that the idea had been developed by Michael, Thompson, and Thompson’s husband, the actor Greg Wise, Kimmings said she had already turned in her draft of the script and it included the kind of “queer politics” Michael was interested in. “I tried to slip in some trans people and make sure there was queer politics in there … I don’t know how much of that remains!”
Feig’s current film, A Simple Favour, surpassed box office expectations. Last Christmas will be Thompson’s sixth screenplay. She remains the only person to receive Academy Awards for acting and writing, having won best adapted screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995) and best actress for Howards End (1993).
Michael’s music has soundtracked a number of films including Deadpool, Zoolander, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Rules of Attraction, Hot Tub Time Machine and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and the Emoji Movie. He died on Christmas day 2016 at the age of 53.
