Like a pot filled with Earl Grey, the Don’t Worry Darling tea just keeps spilling. And in the latest of a series of revelations, it turns out the trailer was supposed to be much hornier according to director Olivia Wilde.
ICYMI, there’s been a ton of drama surrounding the film, including rumours of a pay gap between leads Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, as well as enough BTS beef to fill a family barbecue. Frankly, it’s a lot to unpack.
Amidst all that, the film is set to be released Down Under in early October. So if you’ve been to the cinema recently — or treated yourself to a movie-ad-procrastination-spiral on YouTube — you’ve probably clocked Don’t Worry Darling‘s trailer.
As you’ll see, there’s the barest whisper of a hint to oral sex in it.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Olivia Wilde explained that the Don’t Worry Darling trailer was actually supposed to be much, much more risque.
AP asked if Wilde had to “fight” to include the “sex acts” included in the trailer.
“There’s a lot that had to be taken out of the trailer,” she said.
“The MPA [Motion Picture Association] came down hard on me and the trailer at the last second and I had to cut some shots, which I was upset about because I thought they it took it up another notch.
“But of course we still live in a really puritanical society.”
She then went on to bring up the idea that female pleasure is something audiences “don’t see very often” except in queer cinema.
“It’s interesting because in a lot of queer films, the female characters are allowed to have more pleasure,” she said.
“Audiences aren’t as puritanical as corporations think they are. And yet people get upset.”
TBH, as a queer woman I’d actually love to see more LGBTQIA+ films focused on pleasure too. More pleasure all round, please!
Wilde then went on to describe the film as “provocative”.
“The idea is not to make you feel safe.”
For her part, Florence Pugh referenced that itsby bitsy teeny weeny glimpse of a sex scene in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. She criticised the focus on the scene when the Don’t Worry Darling trailer was first released.
“When it’s reduced to your sex scenes or to watch the most famous man on the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry,” she said.
She then described the movie as “bigger and better than that”.
Phew. Given the amount of discussion generated by the trailer alone, I can only imagine the response when Don’t Worry Darling finally drops. You’ll be catching me in the front row, Fantales and Frozen Coke firmly in hand.
