We Are Suddenly Drowning in May December Movies

We have officially entered a MILF-aissance. Following the critical success of May December, it seems like every studio executive worth their salt is trying to harness the movie magic that only a woman sleeping with a much younger man can create. Since the Oscar-nominated film premiered last year, no fewer than five movies with age-gap romances have been announced. (Notably, two of them star Nicole Kidman. In the words of Lucille Bluth: Good for her!)

Of course, while older man-younger woman relationships are a bit more common, both on screen and in life, there are plenty of real-world examples of the inverse to bolster the film industry’s latest craze: Cher is 40 years older than her boyfriend Alexander Edward; Kris Jenner is 25 years older than her partner Corey Gamble; even May December star Natalie Portman herself sparked dating rumors with Paul Mescal earlier this summer.

In the past, the trope has been explored as a joke: When, last year, TLC premiered the reality show MILF Manor, it reminded some 30 Rock fans of the fictional competition series MILF Island. But while May December turned a darkly comic lens on a problematic relationship, the topic of age gaps has proven to defy genre. Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galatzine brought One Direction fanfiction to life earlier this year in the rom-com The Idea of You, while Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickson are set to give the concept the “erotic drama” treatment in Babygirl.

Although the plots of these films tend to be described with words like “sordid,” “torrid,” and “intoxicating,” they represent a welcome change from the timeworn wisened older man-innocent younger woman dynamic—and give actresses of a certain age exciting new material to mine.

Below, an accounting of the post-May December May-December to add to your watchlist now.

The Idea of You

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galatzine