Materialists’ Celine Song Says Dakota, Pedro, & Chris "Fell In Love" On Set

Celine Song loves love, which is why she can’t get enough of the trio leading her new romance. The Materialists writer and director believes it’s “so much easier to be cynical” when it comes to finding a partner nowadays, but she’s hoping the undeniable chemistry between Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans encourages people to let their guard down a bit.

Falling in love seemed easy for the Materialists cast to do while filming. “Every time that Dakota, Pedro, and Chris were on set, it was a bit of a giggle fest,” Song tells Elite Daily. “They make each other laugh and they just adore each other.” According to the Oscar-nominated writer, the three actors “just fell in love” while working together, constantly making playful jokes between takes. But they snapped into professional mode the minute the cameras started rolling. “It would be so adorable for us to call ‘action’ and for them to go back to being the characters that have tension and chemistry.”

Materialists follows Johnson’s character, Lucy, who works at a matchmaking service in New York City — a role inspired by Song’s actual experience as a matchmaker. The Past Lives director says her ability to bring people together is part of the reason why Johnson, Pascal, and Evans got along so well. “It's a bit of matchmaking, isn't it? I love them, so of course, they're going to fall in love with each other.”

The only problem for Lucy is that she’s found herself caught between these two charming guys — wealthy Harry (Pascal) and her broke ex, John (Evans), who has just reentered her life. On paper, the choice may seem obvious. There’s even that viral “looking for a man in finance” TikTok meme to really underscore the current cultural bias toward a well-off partner.

While Song does compare Harry to the ideal man presented in the “man in finance” meme, she encourages audiences to not give up on love so quickly by immediately going where the money’s at. “It's so much easier to fantasize about getting, meeting, or trying to date that ‘finance, 6-foot-5, blue eyes’ guy than to actually fantasize about this thing that is so completely mysterious that we cannot control, game, or buy — which is love. True love,” she says.

To find out what decision Lucy ultimately makes, watch Materialists in theaters, starting June 13.