Director Adam Shankman to showcase drag queens on the big screen with a film that promises to bring a queer, fun twist to the theaters, and what better time than during pride month?
Stop! That! Train! focuses on the efforts of two stewardesses who attempt to save the day when a “stormaganza” threatens to derail a high-speed train.
Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee) lose their positions as stewardesses on the lackluster train Stank Rail, and find themselves aboard the ever extravagant Glamozonian Express. With the help of Glamozonian Express attendants Alli (Marcia Marcia Marcia), Ayshleiygh (Symone) and Amber (Brooke Lynn Hytes) – aka the A-Squad, an enormous star studded cast of celebrities and drag race alumni, and RuPaul herself as President Judy Gagwell, it’s a race against the clock to Stop! That! Train! before it crashes into Los Angeles.
Watch the official trailer here
Stop! That! Train! is the perfect film for an all things drag summer.
The action packed film leaves viewers on the edge of their seats with laughter and suspense.
Meet the director
Emmy nominated Adam Shankman has directed multiple beloved films such as Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), Hairspray (2007), Bedtime Stories (2008), Disenchanted (2022), and many, many more.
In 2023, he directed two episodes of the hit series Only Murders in the Building (2021- present) streaming on Hulu and Disney+, and has now teamed up with the World of Wonder production to bring us Stop! That! Train!.
Shankman is no stranger when it comes to the world of drag. In 2023, he appeared as a guest judge for season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and later returned in 2024 as a guest judge for season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and again in 2025 for season 10 of All Stars.
When first given the script, he notes that the original idea of the film took place on a plane, but he didn’t want to make a remake of the film Airplane! (1980), a film that has many similarities to Shankman’s latest work.
Old trailer for Airplane!
Both are comedic in their witty deliveries, and in a way, bring an air of aloof unseriousness that is playful and timeless.
Rather than directly imitating the 80s film, it creates a new parody using the same types of humour and makes it its own.
The making of the film
Films today take a long time to produce, taking anywhere from months to even years to work on. During productions it can take days alone to capture the right shots, and the repeated takes to get the perfect one takes time and patience. Stop! That! Train! is in a league of its own when it comes to production, taking only 19 days to shoot everything.
Shankman shares with People that “Almost all of the cameos were shot in half a day. I think each musical number, I shot for maybe two hours. So this is some funky DIY s—.” Funky DIYs may be the exact thing we need to see more of in films today.
The speed of filming isn’t the only thing to note in regards to production; some of the drag queens involved didn’t even know of their nationwide debut.
Brooke Lynn Hytes said in a panel with People Inc. “I don’t think any of us knew it was gonna be in theaters when they asked us to do it,” instead thinking that it would just be a production that aired on the World of Wonder streaming platform, the production company most commonly known for Drag Race. In the same panel, Ginger Minj comments on how much bigger the film was than she was expecting – the film actually turning out to be something “legit.”
Stop! That! Train! turned out to be bigger than anyone expected, and includes more famous cameos than one could imagine.
The cast
Despite the initial shock of how grand the film was expected to be, it can be seen in trailers and prereleased clips alike that everyone involved had a fun time creating it – and there were a lot involved.
Alongside the queens RuPaul, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Symone, and Brooke Lynn Hytes, there’s cameos from Latrice Royale, Monet X Change, and Angeria Paris VanMichaels.
A few celebrity cameos include Michelle Visage, Charo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lisa Rinna, Joel McHale, and Raven-Symoné.
Each character adds on and builds upon joke after joke.
With musical numbers and never ending camera cuts, each scene is a gag.
Stop! That! Train! is surprising and quirky, while bringing the art of drag and drag queens to the forefront .
Representation
This film is the first ever theatrical film from the Drag Race universe. Despite many films made in the past that center drag queens, such as Drag Race season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio’s sequel films Hurricane Bianca (2016) and Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate (2018), John Waters many films featuring drag icon Divine, the ever popular film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), and the revered documentary Paris Is Burning (1991), but none from the infamous world of Drag Race up until now.
Stop! That! Train! has a bit of an upper hand when it comes to its popularity, as fans of Drag Race can finally see some of their favorite queens, and the queen of drag herself, RuPaul, on the big screen. It’s fans’ first chance to see the show’s alumni leave the werkroom and enter a completely new world.
Not only is the film attracting veteran fans of the show, it’s also introducing the drag scene to those who have never seen it before. This film is a chance for everyone to see the art of drag, to gasp, laugh, and enjoy the film as a community through all its twists and turns.
Everything leading up to the film’s release was going smoothly, and audiences were getting excited to see the queer representation on a nationwide scale, but there has recently been a major hiccup along the way that can possibly de-rail the entire thing.
The allegations
Based on the overall excitement from cast and Shankman, everyone was proud and excited to bring us a film of this caliber.
However, when it was discovered that in the film’s credits, Acme AI, a developmental and fine tuning artificial intelligence tool, was the highest billed VFX company for the film there was uncertainty. The news of this use of AI brought fan anticipation to a halting stop. Some even went as far as to look for alternative films to watch this summer.
Many were quick to go online to discuss and warn others interested in seeing Shankman’s new film about this. There was disappointment when it was found out that a film that’s supposed to be a lighthearted escape from the stress of the real world would end up using such tools.
Shankman has since put out a statement on Instagram regarding all of these allegations, saying that “There are a sum total of ZERO shots conceived by AI in the movie. We employed hundreds of VFX artists who all killed themselves getting this out for release and not one job was taken out of human hands.”
To some, this was enough to ease their dissatisfaction on the matter, but for others, it was just another layer to everything.
There are still online speculations on whether or not Shankman’s statement is completely true or if he’s simply curated a clever play of words to save face. Fans are pointing out that he says that no shots were conceived by AI, but doesn’t actually say there weren’t any that were made without the use of AI.
There are a lot more ways people have found loopholes in either Shankman’s statement, or direct clips from the film’s trailers.
Even more AI?
Some people are even starting to point out that on season 18 of Rupaul’s Drag Race, which just aired its finale episode April 17 of this year, it appears to use AI generated images of the last four remaining queens, Nini Coco, Myki Meeks, Juicy Love Dion, and Darleen Mitchell.
RuPaul nor the production of World of Wonder have confirmed if this is true… what do you think?
Stop! That! Train! is a film that celebrates the queer community, meant to bring a fresh, fun energy to film. However, it also has massive allegations that are enough to make or break it entirely.
With its release date fast approaching, it will be interesting to see how everything plays out.
Stop! That! Train! will be in select theaters June 12.
