Taylor Swift is sharing more from her hilarious, time-traveling music video for “Opalite.” At midnight on Friday, the superstar dropped two extended versions of the Nineties-inspired visual. “I never want to forget a single detail of this hysterical shoot, and now I don’t have to,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post. As Swift promises, the new cuts are “full of dance lessons, our phenomenal cameos, camcorder footage, gigantic scrunchies & fanny pack angles.”
In part one of the extended version, Swift shares more details on how she conjured up the idea for the video while on The Graham Norton Show with a star-studded cast made up of Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Domhnall Gleeson, Lewis Capaldi, and even Graham Norton himself. It’s revealed that Murphy wasn’t present for filming, but was there “in spirit” as a poster in the fake mall.
During the cast’s appearance on The Graham Norton Show back in October, Gleeson boldly joked, “I’m hoping to get in a Taylor Swift music video.” The extended version shows Lee, Turner-Smith, and Capaldi reflect on that kismet moment. “Thank god because I think we were all thinking it,” Turner-Smith says as she’s dressed in her aerobics instructor costume. Meanwhile, Gleeson couldn’t believe that moment had traction. He recalls someone asking him after the fact, “‘ Did you see Taylor’s face after you said that?’… I was like, ‘There’s no way she’s thinking about it,’” he says. Well, yes, she totally was.
Despite Gleeson throwing his hat in for a role in Swift’s music video, he is very shocked when the pop star informs him he has to actually dance in the video. “This dance thing is new. I want everyone to know that,” he says in the behind-the-scenes footage.
Throughout part one, Taylor revels in her brunette hair. “Honestly, my best look ever,” she says while holding a camcorder. She’s also seen practicing the video’s final dance number with none other than choreographer Mandy Moore.
Swift also further explains the concept of the video, which uses an infomercial format to sell “the revolutionary fix for your problems” that is Opalite. The product promises that it “magically transforms your problems into your paradise using our state-of-the-art chemical potion. It works on friendships, couples, pets, and co-workers.” In the mastermind’s own words in the extended version: “Nope-alite is for people who want to choose to be unhealed, Opalite is for people who want to choose a path that serves them.”
In part two of the extended version, Swift flexes her directorial experience as she works with Capaldi, Turner-Smith, and Lee on their cameos. Norton makes an appearance in these behind-the-scenes to explain Swift’s process. “The treatment was so detailed, and it’s so close to what we’re actually doing, and I think that’s quite a rare thing,” he says.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who has worked with Swift on previous music videos, also talked about collaborating with the pop star. “I just love the way our working relationship has developed,” he says. In a funny, candid moment, Swift is testing out a fanny pack camera angle when she catches a look from Pietro. “He is so sick of my shit,” she laughs.
Both extended versions of “Opalite” are only available on streaming platforms. The move mirrors her decision to premiere the “Opalite” video on Spotify and Apple Music exclusively after YouTube decided to withdraw its data from Billboard charts following changes to the charts’ methodology. The original “Opalite” music video was uploaded to YouTube a couple of days after its premiere. Let’s hope the same goes for the extended versions.
