Culture

Put Ayo Edebiri And Paul Mescal In A Rom-Com Now, You Cowards

by Ky Stewart  20 March 2024

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There’s only one thing giving me hope in this life and that’s the possibility of Ayo Edebiri and Paul Mescal being in a romantic comedy together. It’s what the people want, nay, need and deserve. And now it looks like we might be one step closer to our dreams coming true. 

Once upon a time, romantic comedies ruled the box office. But in the past five or so years it’s been very quiet on the rom-com front. Some believe the rise of streaming platforms and the pandemic led to the genre’s downfall. But perhaps the changing attitudes towards sex and relationships have played a part too. That’s not to say that we don’t enjoy sex and messy dating stories because we absolutely do. It’s just that we care less about the gross, sleazy, and sometimes manipulative plotlines of the old rom-coms. 

Despite the possible death of the genre, there have been a few incredible rom-coms over the past five years that have not only restored the appetite for those movies, but also my faith in humanity. I’m talking about movies like Bottoms, Anyone But You, Crazy Rich Asians and No Hard Feelings. Truly excellent cinema. Now we have stars like Daniel Radcliff basically begging for someone to put him and Quinta Brunson in a rom-com together. 

And, perhaps most notably, the people (me) are insisting on Ayo and Paul being paired together. We just want to have fun again and a good-ol’ rom-com is the perfect cure for the slew of overly serious movies we’ve been getting. Ever since Paul Mescal said he wanted to do a rom-com with Ayo — and she basically confirmed that they’ve been in talks to star in one together — it’s all many (again, me) have thought about every day. 

Now, we might just know what rom-com they’re starring in. Well, we know the potential author of the source material. Rom-com author Emily Henry is working on not one, but three screenplay adaptations of her books Book Lovers, People We Meet On Vacation, and Beach Read. Book Lovers, in particular, is reportedly being worked on by the producers of Paul’s Aftersun movie, so it’s not too much of a stretch to believe Paul might be attached. Emily also reposted the now-iconic selfie of Paul and Ayo celebrating St Patrick’s Day (because they are both Irish darlings), adding fuel to rom-com rumours. That same selfie sparked several dating rumours, AKA the true hallmark of promoting a good rom-com. 

What if Ayo and Paul are in all three of the adaptations, creating some sort of rom-com multiverse? What if they become our versions of Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, or Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, or Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and make several movies together just for the hell of it? 

Of course, it is possible that this Emily Henry deal won’t go through. So I’ve put together a few ideas for rom-coms that Ayo and Paul would be perfect for. 

First up we have a remake of She’s the Man. Although the original is near perfection, Ayo’s physical comedy would be the perfect match for the chaos of the story and Paul loves to run so playing a football player is right in his wheelhouse. 

The next idea I have is that Daniel Radcliff and Paul Mescal are brothers who fall in love with Quinta Brunson and Ayo Edebiri, who are sisters. Both couples end up having rival weddings, akin to Bride Wars. Just think of how fun that would be to watch. The height difference between Paul and Daniel might make it hard to believe they’re brothers but hey, that’s what movie magic is for, right?  

My other brilliant idea is that Paul and Ayo start dating after they met at university but everything starts to unravel when Ayo falls in love with Paul’s sister, Rachel Sennott. I actually believe that Rachel and Paul would be very convincing as siblings and I adore everything that Ayo and Rachel do together so let me have this. 

The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to rom-coms and to be honest, I don’t care what the plot is. All I care about is that I get to stare at Ayo and Paul’s beautiful faces on my screen. They could be in the new Ghostbusters for all I care and I’d be seated with popcorn in hand.

Ky is a proud Kamilaroi and Dharug person and writer at Junkee. Follow them on Instagram or on X.

Image: Getty