Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor’s gay war drama The History of Sound gets release update

Fans of Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor are set to be disappointed: it turns out the release date for the pair’s new historical queer romance drama, The History of Sound, is a lot further away than hoped.

Josh O’Connor, seen recently in Challengers, is set to appear as David, a man living through World War I, in The History of Sound. His life will be “deeply changed” when he meets Lionel, played by Gladiators star Mescal.

Oliver Hermanus, who recently directed three episodes of Nicholas Galitzine’s gay historical drama Mary & George, is in the director’s chair again, but has issued an update on the release date that will shatter the hearts of those on the Mescal-O’Connor thirst train.

“Venice asked for it but it’s not ready,” Hermanus told AwardsWatch, referring to the 2024 Venice Film Festival which hits the city in September. 

He is hoping his movie will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, which takes place in May. So, fans have approximately a year to wait just to read the first reviews – and it won’t open in cinemas until towards the end of 2025. 

The news is particularly disappointing given that the drama was first announced in 2021, and it has already experienced a series of delays. But for those who like to hear good-looking celebrity men singing, there’s a silver lining.

“We have a lot of score to create, Paul and Josh sing in it, and it’s all about sound,” Hermanus said.

The film follows the young men as they “set out to record the lives, voices and music of their countrymen” – hence the singing – and fall in love along the way.

“In this snatched, short-lived moment in their young lives, and while discovering the epic sweep of the US, both men are deeply changed,” reads one synopsis.

O’Connor and Mescal were spotted filming the movie earlier this year, with both seen wearing flat caps, shirts, ties and waistcoats.

At the time, Hermanus teased that the actors were “on fire” while filming.

O’Connor might be best-known for his turn as Prince Charles in The Crown, but he’s also become pretty established for playing LGBTQ+ roles, including in steamy bisexual tennis romp Challengers, gays-on-the-farm film God’s Own Country, and in a small part in Cillian Murphy’s Peaky Blinders.

Mescal has also played gay, in Andrew Haigh’s heartbreaking romance All of Us Strangers earlier this year.