It has been a whirlwind few years for Joe Locke, who was catapulted to stardom with his first acting role in Netflix's Heartstopper in 2022. Now, the 22-year-old actor is taking a dramatic turn in his next project, a sci-fi horror film titled Baby, which features a highly unusual plot.
A Radical Departure from Heartstopper
Locke, who played Charlie Spring in the beloved teen drama, has wrapped filming on Baby, a body horror movie where he portrays 'a young male sex worker who becomes pregnant with a mysterious creature.' The film is directed by Sam Max in his feature debut, known previously for queer short films, and is produced by Luca Intili and Kindred Spirit.
While full plot details remain under wraps, Locke teased the conclusion of filming on Instagram, sharing a Story of himself with wet hair in a car holding flowers, captioned 'That's a wrap BABY' with an alien emoji. Director Sam Max also shared behind-the-scenes glimpses, including an image of an alien in a bathtub with fake blood splattered on the wall, writing, 'Wrapped my first feature yesterday. Hardest 28 days of my life. Departed reality entirely.'
Online Reactions and Buzz
Even before post-production began, Baby has generated significant attention, particularly within the queer community, as male pregnancy (often called 'mpreg') is a long-standing fan fiction trope. A post from @_filmcrave on X went viral, sparking reactions. User @fujoconnor wrote, 'I'm sorry run that by me again,' while @reiislocked tweeted, 'one thing i love about stanning joe locke is that you can never predict what he's doing next.' @sprjngbags commented, 'congratulations to joe locke for being the first to bring mpreg to our screens.'
Locke himself poked fun at the story, commenting 'lol' under a Gay Times Instagram post with the headline, 'Joe Locke to play pregnant sex worker in wild new horror film.'
Locke's Rising Career
Since his breakthrough in Heartstopper, the Manx actor has landed impressive roles, including Billy Maximoff/William Kaplan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Agatha All Along and Tobias Ragg in a Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His Heartstopper co-star Kit Connor has also found success, voicing roles in His Dark Materials and playing Romeo on Broadway opposite Rachel Zegler.
Heartstopper Forever: The Final Chapter
Fans of Heartstopper can look forward to the series' conclusion with a TV movie titled Heartstopper Forever, arriving on Netflix on July 17. The film adapts Alice Oseman's sixth graphic novel volume and follows Nick and Charlie as they face challenges from long-distance and an uncertain future. Kit Connor returns as Nick Nelson, alongside Yasmin Finney, Will Gao, Corinna Brown, and Kizzy Edgell. However, Olivia Colman will not reprise her role as Nick's mother due to scheduling conflicts; she has been recast with Anna Maxwell.
While Baby promises a wild ride with aliens and body horror, Heartstopper Forever will deliver the sweet romance fans have come to love—no aliens involved.
