In the ‘Frank & Percy’ Trailer, It’s Never Too Late to Fall In Love
Ian McKellen and Roger Allam are a bromance turned romance (and it's adorable).
A queer romantic comedy starring Ian McKellen (The Critic) and Roger Allam (Endeavour) as a pair of elderly British gentlemen who find a second chance at love with each other basically feels too good to be true. (If for no other reason than it’s the exact opposite of the bombastic, action-oriented, and aggressively heterosexual films most studios are greenlighting nowadays.) But it’s real: It’s called Frank & Percy, and it looks adorable.
Adapted from the critically acclaimed West End play of the same name with Allam and McKellen reprising their stage roles, Frank & Percy tells the story of the titular pair who meet by accident while walking their dogs and strike up an unexpected friendship. Frank (Allam) is a retired history teacher and widower whose wife died of cancer a few short years prior. Percy (McKellen) is an academic and climate scientist who is acrimoniously separated from a long-term partner (and has been for some time). The two discover that they have more in common than either expected, and their friendship blossoms into something that looks a lot like love.
Romantic comedies featuring older characters — and let’s face it, we can probably translate “old” here as anyone over 30, let alone 40 — are vanishingly uncommon in today’s entertainment industry. Older queer characters? Practically an endangered species. If nothing else, Frank & Percy feels important, if only as a reminder that life doesn’t end for any of us when we turn 50, or 60, or 70. It’s also never too late to say yes to what makes you happy.
Here’s the synopsis.
When Frank, a kind-hearted widower, and Percy, a witty and flamboyant bachelor, cross paths while walking their beloved dogs on Hampstead Heath, a casual chat about the weather and bad hips slowly gives way to something deeper. As their friendship blossoms into an unexpected romance, they must decide whether to take a chance on love and find the courage to embrace a new beginning.
Alongside Allam and McKellen, the film also stars Stephen Fry (The Sandman), Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Derek Jacobi (Good Omens), Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who), and Siân Phillips (Keeping Faith).
Martin Sherman (Mrs. Henderson Presents) adapted the film from the play by Ben Weatherhill; Sean Mathias (Bent) directs. McKellen also serves as an executive producer, along with Hilary Strong, Jamie Anderson, Spencer Pollard, Jenny Seagrove, Richard D. Batchelder, and Carl Moellenberg. John Gore, David Gilbery, and Naomi George serve as producers.
Frank and Percy premiered at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. It will be released in theaters in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2027 on a still-undetermined date.
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