The Substance’s Margaret Qualley set to play lesbian detective

The Substance actress Margaret Qualley is teaming up with Agatha All Along star and sapphics’ favourite Aubrey Plaza for a dark lesbian comedy film.

Qualley will lead Honey Don’t! in role as the titular character Honey, a lesbian detective investigating a suspicious church and potential cult.

Captain America star Chris Evans will play the cult leader, Priest Dean, while The White Lotus actress Aubrey Plaza will star as a very ominous “mystery woman”.

Gay Bros actor Billy Eichner will also star, alongside It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day and Tony Award nominee Gabby Beans.

Honey Don’t! is the second film in a “lesbian B-movie trilogy” by filmmaking couple Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, with the first being last year’s hilarious road trip crime comedy Drive-Away Dolls.

Qualley played the lead in Drive-Away Dolls alongside Geraldine Viswanathan. The Last of Us actor and internet daddy Pedro Pascal also starred.

Speaking to i-D about Honey Don’t!, which is due for theatrical release later this year, Qualley said she had to do away with her “natural Scooby-Doo” inclinations to “be a little more suave than I am, more mysterious”.

“I tend to want to diffuse things before they even happen. Honey, she’s like honey – she’s skillful, she’s smooth, she is slipping in and out undetected,” she teased.

“No girl needs to be taught how to be a detective. Women know what’s happening even when they don’t know what’s happening. I remember in my early twenties, especially, my investigative skills on Instagram were really out of control. It’s a combination of tools, craft, and gut instinct.”

Qualley went on to gush about working with Cohen and Cooke, describing the experience as “unlike anything else [she’s] ever known”.

“They respect and love each other so much. I love the world that they’re living in.”

While a third lesbian caper film has been promised by the film writers, Qualley is yet to see it come to fruition.

“I have not read a script and I haven’t been contacted… But let the record show that if I’m not in [the third film], I will be offended and I will be upset,” she joked.

While Margaret Qualley became known for roles in big films including Poor Things and Palo Alto, plus TV series such as The Leftovers and Maid, her biggest career break came last year.

Qualley joined The Substance cast alongside Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid, with the body horror becoming one of 2024’s most talked about movies.

Qualley managed to secure a Golden Globe nomination for her role as famous fitness instructor Sue, the younger incarnation of Moore’s character Elisabeth Sparkle.

The Substance cast and crew managed to secure a win at the 2025 Oscars too, winning in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category. Moore was the favourite to win the Best Actress gong for her role as Elisabeth, but it ultimately went to Anora star Mikey Madison.

Qualley has several other major films arriving in cinemas in 2025, including Blue Moon, in which Ethan Hawke stars as late LGBTQ+ lyricist Lorenz Hart.

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