Lili Reinhart has a fairly simple test for whether a movie role deserves her attention: making the character queer certainly helps.
Speaking to Hits Radio, the Riverdale star explained that she is immediately more interested in a project when there is something queer about the character she would be playing.
“I’m instantly way more interested in doing a movie if my character is a little gay, because I’m a little gay,” Reinhart said.
It is a characteristically direct explanation from the actor, who has previously spoken publicly about being bisexual, and it also offers a glimpse at the kind of material she appears increasingly interested in pursuing.
Queer characters immediately get Lili Reinhart’s attention
Reinhart’s comment was playful, but the preference behind it was clear. Queer roles are not simply something she is willing to consider; by her own account, they can actively make a project more appealing.
That distinction is worth noting. Actors are routinely asked about the roles they would like to play next, and the answers can sometimes sound carefully engineered to keep every possible door open. Reinhart’s answer was considerably less complicated.
Her interest also carries a personal connection. Reinhart has previously spoken publicly about being bisexual, making her enthusiasm for queer characters more than an abstract preference for a particular type of story.
She did not identify one specific character she is determined to play next, but another idea she discussed during the conversation suggests subtlety may not be an absolute requirement.
There is also the small matter of lesbian vampires
Reinhart revealed that she wants to adapt a lesbian vampire novel, questioning why anyone “wouldn’t make that, in this day and age.”
It is difficult to argue that the concept lacks a pitch.
The idea would combine the queer material Reinhart says immediately attracts her with one of fiction’s most durable supernatural archetypes. Beyond that, however, the information available does not establish how far any potential adaptation has progressed or whether it is currently moving toward production.
For now, it is best understood as a project Reinhart has expressed an interest in pursuing rather than a confirmed upcoming film.
Her comments point to the stories she wants to pursue
Reinhart’s remarks are notable because they reveal something more specific than a general desire to take on different roles after Riverdale. She appears particularly interested in characters and stories that give her an opportunity to explore queer identity on screen.
In my view, that specificity makes her answer more interesting than the usual discussion about an actor wanting to “challenge” themselves with new material. Reinhart has identified something concrete that can make a role more attractive to her, and the proposed lesbian vampire adaptation takes that preference in a direction that is distinctive enough to stand on its own. Whether such a project actually reaches the screen is another question.
There are no further details regarding the upcoming queer character Reinhart might play. But between her very straightforward movie-role criteria and her enthusiasm for lesbian vampires, audiences have at least been given a reasonably clear indication of what might catch her eye.
The remaining question is what form it takes: an existing queer character, something entirely new, or, indeed, a vampire.
