father figure

AI transforms Ryan Reynolds into this legendary gay icon

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Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds (Photo: Shutterstock)

Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds and his pal Rob McElhenney have marked the festive season by mocking up photos of themselves as Wham! McElhenney is Andrew Ridgley while Reynolds is—a rather convincing—George Michael.

Reynolds and McElhenney famously bought the lower-tier Welsh football club, Wrexham AFC, in 2020. The two men invested millions of dollars into the club, helping to finance a winning streak and a return to the English Football League for the first time since relegation in 2007/08.

Their journey with the club was documented in the FX documentary, Welcome to Wrexham.

On Instagram, McElhenney, a comic actor and podcaster, posted two images of classic Wham! releases. However, instead of ‘Wham!” they said “Wrexham”. He and Reynolds were photoshopped in to replace Ridgeley and Michael.

Swipe the images below.

Among those to comment was actress Olivia Spencer, who posted a row of laughing emojis: “😂😂😂”

George Michael biopic

Ryan Reynolds, will next grace screens, alongside Hugh Jackman, in the eagerly-awaited Deadpool 3.

Although the Instagram postings are just a little bit of festive fun, a biopic about George Michael might yet happen.

At the start of the year, rumors circulated that White Lotus star Theo James was in the running to play Michael in a planned movie. The gossip prompted criticism from one out star: Adam Lambert.

Beneath an Instagram news story posted by The Advocate about the potential casting, the American Idol alum commented, “Yay another straight man playing a gay icon.”

Lambert later clarified his remark, telling Queerty, “My comment in no way suggests that I feel straight actors can’t play gay roles, because I think they do it really well.”

However, he still felt gay actors didn’t get offered enough lead roles.

“There’s just been so many doors closed to our community for so long. You’ve got to start somewhere. You’ve got to start giving people opportunities so that we do have big gay movie stars.”

News of the rumored biopic was quickly quashed by the family and estate of George Michael.

“To all of George’s Lovelies, fans and lovers of his music, a story has been published stating that George Michael’s family has endorsed a so-called ‘biopic’ about his life,” a statement said last January.

“On behalf of George’s family and [George Michael Entertainment] we want to make it clear that there is no truth whatsoever in this story, we know nothing about this project and will not be endorsing it in any way.”

Anniversary of George Michael’s death

British singer and songwriter George Michael shot to fame as half of Wham! in the early 1980s. He then enjoyed solo success with hits such as “Faith” and “Father Figure.”

Michael came out as gay after being arrested by an undercover cop in a restroom in an LA Park in 1998. He struggled with substance abuse problems later in life and died on Christmas Day 2016.

Related:

Adam Lambert criticizes casting Theo James as George Michael in rumored biopic

Lambert has previously said he’d be up for playing George Michael.

Adam Lambert has never shied away from being his authentic self, and he’s not about to start now

“High Drama” sums up Adam Lambert’s year so far. A new album and debut role in a feature film are the powerhouse performer’s latest achievements.

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