The rumours are fake, sorry – we won’t be getting a lesbian Brokeback Mountain
Margot Robbie and Emma Watson were rumoured to be starring in a lesbian Brokeback Mountain. (Getty)
Rumours of a gender-swapped, lesbian version of Brokeback Mountain have resurfaced today (March 29), but sadly it’s all just that – a rumour.
Posts with the hashtag #brokeback2 started trending on X (formerly known as Twitter), alleging that a remake of the 2005 Oscar-winning film was in the works with Harry Potter‘s Emma Watson set to take on Heath Ledger’s role as Ennis Del Mar and Barbie star Margot Robbie playing Jake Gyllenhaal’s character Jack Twist.
This rumour actually started way back in 2016, when satirical website The Portly Gazette reported that the sequel film would “follow two lesbian lovers in rural USA and will retain most of the themes of the original film, aside from the obvious gender switch”. It claimed the release date would be some time in 2017.
“Mega-stars Margot Robbie and Emma Watson have been cast to play the two lesbians struggling to compromise their secret lesbian relationship with their intolerant surroundings.”
While a lesbian version of the iconic movie, with two powerhouse actors like Watson and Robbie at the helm, would be amazing, it is still untrue. Nothing has changed since 2016, when the hashtag first trended.
Also, this is not the first time people have been fooled by a new remake or reboot recently, after a viral photoshopped poster featuring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lisa Kudrow, and Maya Rudolph as the new Golden Girls in a reboot of the iconic 80s sitcom recently made the rounds.
However, given that many people seem to be excited about the fake “lesbian Brokeback Mountain” movie, maybe it is finally time that Hollywood execs take note, and get started on convincing Robbie and Watson.
The original Brokeback Mountain starred Gyllenhaal and Ledger as a queer couple who have to hide their relationship and face stigma and difficulties as gay men in the unaccepting society of their home in Wyoming.
Ledger died three years after the film came out of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 28.
Gyllenhaal spoke out about the impact of his co-star’s death in 2016, telling PEOPLE Magazine that Ledger’s death affected in ways he “can’t necessarily put in words, or even would want to talk about publicly”.
“I miss him as a human being, and I miss working with him. And what an unfortunate thing it is that we won’t be able to see the beauty of his expression.
“He was incredibly special, and that doesn’t even come close to encapsulating who he is — who he was,” Gyllenhaal added.
