David Tennant Officially Starring In New Adaptation Based On Scandalous 54-Year-Old Bestselling Novel

Published Jul 23, 2026, 4:02 PM EDT Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. David Tennant will be leading a scandalous new movie. The actor is officially starring in a new movie adaptation based on an infamous, 54-year-old bestselling novel, as new details are revealed about the project. Tennant's movie and TV show roles have encompassed a wide array of genres, with some of his best known being the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who and Kilgrave in Marvel's Jessica Jones. As for the big screen, the actor's mostly had voice roles over the last few years, with his latest live-action contribution being Ian Ventham in The Thursday Murder Club. Now, Deadline reports Tennant will be joining the cast of The Joys of Sex, an adaptation of a scandalous sex manual published by Alex Comfort in 1972. The film will be led by Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, and Laura Linney, while Tennant, Jason Watkins, and Vicky Krieps will also be part of the core cast of characters. The movie will be directed by Sharon Maguire, best known for the Bridget Jones movies. She co-writes the script with Lise Mayer, the pair pulling from Comfort's real-world love affair for inspiration. According to the synopsis, the movie will follow Firth as Alex Comfort, "a British science professor who specialized in the lifelong study of molluscs" prior to his writing The Joys of Sex. The movie frames his book through the lens of his romance with his wife, Ruth (Linney), and her best friend, Jane (Moore). The film will take place over the course of a decade, highlighting how the love triangle influenced Comfort's writing of the actual novel. In a statement, Maguire explained her history with the controversial book, highlighting the angle from which she approaches its adaptation: The Joy of Sex was never allowed inside my Irish Catholic household in the 70s. And as a result, its hidden promise had me in its thrall. The irony is that the book was an unashamed sex guide for loving couples, yet it was created out of a somewhat tempestuous triangle. Dissecting this triangle lies at the heart of the movie. It’s a story which is surprising, moving and very funny. The movie will be produced by Alison Owen and Debra Hayward of Monumental Films, Anand Tucker from Seven Stories Film & TV, and Matthias Greving representing Kinescope Pictures. As for the executive producers, they consist of Deepak Nayar (Kintop Pictures), Colleen Woodcock (Seven Stories), Philip Von Alvensleben and Isabell Von Alvensleben (Alive Entertainment), Marie-Claire Benson and Emma Berkofsky (Lionsgate UK), and Embankment Films. Lionsgate is set to distribute the movie in the UK, with no word yet on US release plans. This will be the second adaptation of The Joys of Sex, which was previously adapted into a sex comedy film in 1984, albeit with its own original, fictional story led by Cameon Dye, Michelle Meyrink, Colleen Camp, and Ernie Hudson. The movie earned mixed reviews from audiences, while critics were much harsher. However, Maguire's version promises to be very different, looking into the life of the book's author while tying it into the book's writing. It's an angle that promises faithfulness to the novel, while also adding historical context. The Joys of Sex has sold 15 million copies globally and became a New York Times bestseller upon release. An updated version was released in 2008. While Tennant's role in the movie remains unknown for now, the casting has laid the groundwork for a story that goes beyond just the love triangle at the center. It seems like the movie will have much to say not just about the novel and its contents, but Comfort's life and the decisions that led him to write his bestseller.