WATCH: Jacob Elordi & Zachary Quinto take a tension-filled trip in this strange-but-true crime tale

What happens when Zachary Quinto, Jacob Elordi, and a celebrity chimp walk into a roadside motel?

If you’re waiting for a punchline, we don’t have one—we genuinely want to know!

And that’s exactly why we’re excited for He Went That Way, an intriguing new road-trip thriller based on a strange-but-true story that’s become something of an urban legend.

From filmmaker Jeff Darling—who tragically passed after production on the film wrapped—the story takes place in 1964 as animal handler Jim (Quinto) drives across a particularly remote stretch of Route 66 with some very precious cargo in tow: Spanky, a chimpanzee who happens to be a popular television star (the ’60s were a very different time).

Somewhere along the way, Jim comes across a tall, dark, and handsome stranger named Bobby (Elordi) and offers to give him a lift. But, before long, he realizes this enigmatic stranger is actually a serial killer in the middle of a violent streak, and Jim’s forced to think on his feet if he and Spanky hope to make it to their destination alive.

The tale is based on a series of events that actually happened to celebrity animal trainer Dave Pitts as he was traveling across the country with Spanky, then the main act of touring entertainment show, the Ice Capades. When he picked up a stranded stranger off the road, Pitts later discovered it was convicted murderer Larry Lee Ranes. Pitts—and Spanky—are recognized as the lone survivors of Ranes’ killing spree.

Now, we know what you might be thinking (and, don’t worry, we’d been wondering, too): Is there something… gay going on here?

There certainly wasn’t in Pitts’ account of the real-life events, nor in the lightly fictionalized source novel about Ranes’ murders, Luke Karamazov. But, come on, you don’t cast one of Hollywood’s most well-known out gay actors and a rising star heartthrob with a penchant for queer-leaning roles (as recent as Saltburn) without raising a few eyebrows.

Related:

Just how gay is ‘Saltburn’? A spoiler-filled breakdown of Jacob Elordi & Barry Keoghan’s darkly funny thriller

We can think of at least three jaw-dropping scenes in ‘Saltburn’ that’ll have the gays talking for the rest of the year.

And the brand-new trailer for the film seems to lean into that angle, too. Oh sure, there’s plenty of thrills and suspense, but also multiple shots of a shirtless Elordi, including one in a bathroom where Quinto watches him take his shirt off. Doesn’t the impeding danger of it all make it a little… homoerotic?

Ahead of He Went That Way‘s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June, Quinto set the record straight with Variety: “I wouldn’t say it’s an overtly queer story, but I will say that there are undertones of both emotional and physical tension between these two characters.”

Honestly? Good enough for us.

He Went That Way gets 2024 off to a titillating start, opening in select theaters on January 5, then hitting digital VOD platforms on January 12. You can watch the official trailer for the film below:

Related:

Zachary Quinto says there are still tons of gay male celebrities afraid to come out

When Zachary Quinto came out in 2011, he said “living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it” was “simply not enough.”