Anyone But You director Will Gluck has seen the confusion surrounding the movie’s initial teaser trailer, and he’s not disagreeing.
Fans got their first glimpse of the upcoming film starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell in October, but it wasn’t what viewers expected. Gluck, 45, admitted in an interview published on Thursday, November 16, that he got “too cute” with the clip.
“I blame myself,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “The teaser wasn’t well received and I put that completely on my own shoulders. We tried to get too cute with it.”
Gluck explained, “It is a big fun comedy, and if you saw that teaser without anything else, you’d think, ‘Is someone going to get killed? Is this a thriller?’ That was a mistake on my part. I just wanted people to lean in and say, ‘What is this?’”
The teaser features Sweeney’s character, Bea, and Powell’s Ben agreeing to pretend they’re a couple while at a destination wedding. (Bea’s parents are trying to set her up with her ex-boyfriend, while Ben is trying to make his ex jealous.)
In the clip, they danced together and got cozy on a boat while “I Hate the Way That I Love You” by Labrinth played in the background, but the teaser wasn’t exactly giving romantic comedy.
“Why does this watch like a teaser trailer for a psychological thriller without telling people that it’s a psychological thriller,” one fan wondered in the comments of the YouTube upload. A second added, “This music doesn’t feel like it fits the trailer but I’m still excited to watch it!!! Looks cute!” Another viewer wrote, “This teaser left me with no idea what this movie is actually about.”
The full-length trailer dropped on Thursday, giving fans a little more insight into the plot. The pair previously hooked up but quickly realized their personalities weren’t a good fit. While spending time together at a wedding, Bea and Ben fool their friends and family into thinking they’re dating by showing affection to each other, enjoying meals together and dancing.
Anyone But You has sparked plenty of conversation, with fans wondering earlier this year whether Powell, 35, and Sweeney, 26, were more than just costars after seeing behind-the-scenes footage of the two cuddling up. Sweeney is engaged to Jonathan Davino, while Powell split from girlfriend Gigi Paris in April as the movie wrapped filming.
Powell recently addressed the alleged affair in his Men’s Health cover story. “When all that stuff happened, you know, publicly, it felt disorienting and unfair,” he said. “But what I’m realizing is that’s just a part of this gig now.”
He continued, “If you talk to a girl or something like that, and you’re like, ‘We have a really great connection, we’re having a really great interaction,’ and then they ask you for a selfie, it’s like, ‘Oh ….”
Sweeney also got candid about the rumors in an August interview with Variety. “Sometimes I feel beat up by it,” she admitted. “It’s hard to sit back and watch, and not be able to stand up for yourself.”
