Right now, Billy Porter is most known for his starring turn as Pray Tell, the no-nonsense ballroom emcee at the center of Ryan Murphy’s breakout FX series Pose. It’s a performance that has led to one Emmy win, another Emmy nomination, and two Golden Globe nominations. But soon you’ll also know him for his work behind the camera, as the Tony-winning actor is now set to direct his debut feature. Titled What If?, the high school coming-of-age film will be the first feature produced under MGM’s recently relaunched Orion Pictures — a production house dedicated to focusing on projects from and about underrepresented voices.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, What If? will be in good company: early reports have described the script, penned by first-time feature writer Alvaro García Lecuona, as similar to those of recent coming-of-age hits, like Olivia Wilde’s feature debut Booksmart and Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon. The logline for the forthcoming film describes it as such: “When high school senior Khal posts on r/relationships about his crush on Kelsa, a trans girl at his school, the internet encourages him to go for it. What follows is a modern coming-of-age story as the two navigate a high school senior year relationship that neither could have expected.”
In a statement, Alana Mayo, head of the new Orion Pictures, said, “We couldn’t be more excited to work with Billy Porter on his feature directing debut and are privileged that he, Alvaro, and the producing team behind this special film have entrusted us with their vision for this beautiful, contemporary love story.” Since Orion relaunched with a focus on telling stories that amplify diverse, underserved voices, Mayo added, “What If? is perfectly emblematic of the ambitions we have for the new Orion Pictures: to tell stories about the totality of the human experience.”
For his part, Porter also seems thrilled about the groundbreaking opportunity. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this new space in Hollywood for telling all types of stories from all types of people,” the Tony winner said in a statement. “I am grateful to be in a position to usher some of these stories into the mainstream and I am humbled that heavy hitters like [Killer Films producer] Christine Vachon and Alana Mayo have entrusted and empowered me in this insane time we all find ourselves in.”
For now, there is no word on who will fill out the cast, though with Porter’s experience working on Pose, we can at least trust that the new director will make sure Kelsa is played by an actual trans actress. Still, don’t be surprised if it takes a while for this film to go into production. In addition to the currently filming third season of Pose, Porter is also set to play the Fairy Godmother in the upcoming Camila Cabello-starring Cinderella and to voice the bloodthirsty Venus flytrap Audrey II in Greg Berlanti’s hotly anticipated remake of Little Shop of Horrors.
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