Tony & Emmy Winner Billy Porter to Make Feature Film Directorial Debut with What If?

Billy Porter is taking his directing skills to the big screen. The multi-talented artist is set to helm the coming-of-age film What If?, according to Deadline . The screenplay was written by Alvaro García Lecuona and follows high school senior KHAL who posts on r/relationships about his crush on Kelsa, a trans girl at his school. The two navigate a high school senior year relationship that neither could have expected. Casting and a timeline for the movie will be announced later.

Porter received a 2013 Tony Award for his lperformance as Lola in the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots. He won a 2019 Emmy Award for playing Pray Tell on Pose. He is set to play the Fairy Godmother and Audrey II in forthcoming films Cinderella and Little Shop of Horrors, respectively.

As previously reported, Porter will direct a revival of The Life for Encores! at New York City Center. He garnered an Elliot Norton Award nomination for helming The Purists at Huntington Theatre Company in Boston.