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Last week, discourse about an upcoming film erupted before the trailer ever came out. Materialists, directed by Past Lives filmmaker Celine Song, is a romantic film starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. According to the now-released trailer, Johnson plays a matchmaker forced to choose between her ex (Evans) and a wealthy man she meets (Pascal).
On Monday, A24 posted a photo of the film’s poster, which depicts the three leads gathered around a table at a wedding. Though little was known about the film at this point, movie fans immediately sounded off.
Numerous folks on X expressed their distaste for the poster, writing things like “based on the poster alone, materialists looks so bad,” and “the Materialists poster looks like another terrible Prime Video romcom.”
Many of these opinions changed once the trailer was released the following day. Romance fans and fans of Evans and Pascal expressed their excitement, hopes, theories, and concerns about the movie online. “Yeah, I’ll be eating good with Materialists,” one fan wrote. “Maybe life is worth living!” wrote another user.
Several users noted that the film feels like a throwback to 1990s/2000s rom-coms, and some welcomed the supposed revival of the genre. “materialists even got an obligatory original song from an indie artist, we’re bringing recipes back,” one fan noted, referencing the Japanese Breakfast song in the trailer.
Fans argue about Chris Evans vs Pedro Pascal
Discussions about the unreleased film went deeper. On TikTok, fan edits started appearing mere hours after the trailer dropped. As one commenter noted, “the devil works fast but the editing community works FASTER.”
The bulk of the conversation on TikTok and X centered on the choice between the two male leads. Creators posted fan edits featuring clips of either Evans or of Pascal, making their preference known. On both platforms, the consensus was clear: Fans want Johnson to choose Pascal in the end.
The main reason for this argument was money. “she better not pick the broke man in this economy,” one TikTok commenter wrote, referring to Evans’ character. “Yeah we’re not romanticising the struggle anymore so hopefully Pedro,” wrote another.
Nonetheless, many of these pro-Pascal fans predicted that Johnson will choose Evans in the end, an example of what several fans called The Notebook narrative—ie. the idea that love equals suffering. “We all know how it’s going to end and we’re going to be disappointed,” one commenter wrote.
Others noted they’re going to “crash out” if she chooses Evans.
Still, the Evans contingent has fought to make their voices heard. Some were confused that people are hating on Evans for seemingly no reason. Others were excited for what this role will mean for his post-Marvel career. “#TEAMJOHN 
,” wrote one commenter. “only watching it for chris evans of course,” wrote another.
Fans already invested in unreleased film ‘Materialists’
While it’s difficult to say if the film will be successful or not, so far, it has the ingredients of a good romance.
Fans are already imagining themselves in the characters’ shoes, wishing they were Dakota Johnson and could date one or both of these eligible men. “My toxic trait is thinking this kind of thing with that kind of man can happen to me,” one fan wrote.
Others noted that Johnson can have either Evans or Pascal because they want the other man for themselves. Indeed, on TikTok, many comments were of the R-rated variety, with fans describing precisely how much they love these actors.
Though it doesn’t come out for another three months, the Materialists discourse displays all the markers of an engaged fandom. There are already “ship wars,” with fans arguing about which potential relationship is better. Fans have become both emotionally connected and sexually attracted to these characters, two fundamental elements of the fan experience. We’ve already seen fanworks—mostly fan edits on TikTok—and fan theories.
The question now becomes, will this fandom sustain itself until (and after) the movie comes out? Considering the immediate passion with which fans responded to the trailer, it seems likely.
Until then, fans will keep arguing about which man Johnson should pick. Or, maybe the answer is the most obvious one, as posited by a galaxy-brained TikTok user: “THIS IS WHY POLYAMORY EXISTS.”
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