Bill Condon’s ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ charts indie path, Sundance bow, and Locarno stop, with Jennifer Lopez as its marquee diva

Bill Condon has returned to the movie musical with The Kiss of the Spider Woman, unveiling the film at the Sundance Film Festival during the winter to strong audience response and positive reviews. The project next screens at Locarno, extending a festival run that positions the title for an art house and event driven rollout.

Condon, known for writing Chicago and directing Dreamgirls and Beauty and the Beast, pursued this adaptation independently to preserve a darker tone and a faithful connection to Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel. The film revisits the story of two cellmates, Valentíno, played by Diego Luna, a political prisoner, and Molina, played by Tonatiuh, a queer window dresser. Their bond deepens as Molina retells a Hollywood musical starring his idol, Ingrid Luna, played by Jennifer Lopez. Condon’s approach leans into the novel’s exploration of sexual fluidity and the proto trans dimension of Molina, areas that earlier screen and stage versions treated more cautiously.

Development stretched across a decade. Condon engaged with John Kander and the late Terrence McNally early on, then navigated a long rights process before production. Budget strategy shaped the shoot. The prison drama core was filmed in Uruguay on a small fraction of the overall spend, about ten percent. The musical sequences were staged in New Jersey, designed as approximately 35 minutes of the final runtime, allowing the production to concentrate resources on fewer but fully realised numbers.

Lopez completed her work in under four weeks, delivering a sequence of large scale set pieces that were staged in a classic 1940s and 1950s style, prioritising full body performance and minimal cutting. One of the climactic numbers, Give Me Love, was captured in a single take late in the schedule, underscoring the film’s commitment to old Hollywood musical grammar.

The Sundance reception reinforced Condon’s belief that musicals thrive with an audience, with built in applause beats and theatrical cadence. The filmmaker has often noted the genre’s cyclical fortunes, and this release arrives as studios weigh risk and brand recognition. Marketing for The Kiss of the Spider Woman is presenting the film squarely as a musical, a clear signal of intent in a market that can be wary of the label.

With Lopez as its marquee presence, Luna and Tonatiuh anchoring the central relationship, and Condon fusing intimate prison drama with stylised fantasy, The Kiss of the Spider Woman aims to broaden the current conversation around movie musicals while honoring Puig’s enduring story.

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