Alexander Skarsgård is stripping down, emotionally and physically, in Pillion, a darkly funny, unexpectedly tender queer romance that leans hard into power dynamics, leather, and longing. The newly released trailer for the film teases an unapologetically erotic love story between Skarsgård and Harry Melling that’s already turning heads ahead of its theatrical release.
Written and directed by Harry Lighton in his feature debut, Pillion stars Melling as Colin, a painfully shy, adrift man who stumbles into a dominant-submissive relationship with Ray, a commanding biker played by Skarsgård. What begins as an intense BDSM arrangement slowly evolves into something more emotionally complex, challenging both men’s expectations of love, happiness and control.
The trailer, released Jan. 14, wastes no time establishing the film’s charged tone. Colin trails behind Ray in a shadowy alley as the biker, clad head to toe in leather, senses his attention. Moments later, Ray approaches shirtless beneath leather overalls and asks, “What am I gonna do with you?” Colin’s breathless reply, “Whatever you want, really,” sets the stage for a relationship defined by submission, devotion and desire.
As the trailer unfolds, viewers glimpse Colin’s gradual transformation as he embraces his role as Ray’s submissive, including proudly wearing a collar placed around his neck. While the relationship empowers Colin in unexpected ways, it also sparks concern from his family and forces him to confront what fulfillment truly means to him.
At one point, a woman pointedly asks Colin how he managed to land a man like Ray. His response, delivered with quiet confidence, cuts to the heart of the film’s themes: “I have an aptitude for devotion.”
The film premiered to buzz at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025, where critics noted its careful balance of explicit sexuality and emotional intimacy. Though the premise suggests something grim or shocking, Skarsgård has emphasized that Pillion is far softer than it might appear on the surface.
“I thought it was going to be more of a sub/dom story than a rom-com, but it was also sweet and tender,” Skarsgård said in a recent interview with W Magazine. “I was hooked from the first page of the script.”
That tenderness is evident in the trailer’s final moments, when Colin begins to question whether submission alone is enough. “If you’re not happy,” Ray starts to say, before Colin cuts him off. “No, I’m happy … I can just maybe be happier.”
Skarsgård also revealed that he and Melling met just two days before filming began, and immediately jumped into rehearsing an intimate wrestling scene. “It was great to get to know each other in our little buttless singlets,” he joked, underscoring the trust required for such vulnerable performances.
With its mix of raw sexuality, emotional honesty and queer representation rarely seen in mainstream cinema, Pillion positions itself as one of the most daring LGBTQ+ films of the year. Skarsgård’s commanding presence and Melling’s deeply felt performance promise a love story that’s as provocative as it is heartfelt.
Pillion opens in select theaters Feb. 6 and expands nationwide Feb. 20.a
