Undaunted by The Idol, the Weeknd will return to the screen next year for a feature film tethered to his upcoming album Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Abel Tesfaye officially announced the project’s May 16 theatrical release Friday, adding that the movie will co-star Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. The film, also titled Hurry Up Tomorrow, was directed by Trey Edward Shults, the filmmaker behind Waves and It Comes at Night.
The movie, described as a “musically driven psychological thriller,” arrives roughly four months after the Weeknd releases his album Hurry Up Tomorrow, due out Jan. 24. The LP is the third part of a trilogy following 2020’s After Hours and 2022’s Dawn FM.
The day after the album’s arrival, the Weeknd will take over the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, for a one-night-only live show on Jan. 25. The singer’s stage will take over the entire Rose Bowl floor.
The Weeknd has already shared three videos from Hurry Up Tomorrow — “Dancing in the Flames,” “Timeless” with Playboi Carti, and “São Paulo” with Anitta — but they are unlikely to feature in the cinematic version of the album, as none were directed by Shults.
The Weeknd previously announced the upcoming album title in November with a lengthy statement featuring scrolling bold, red text. “Yesterday was fourteen years ago… We held our breath, falling into a shimmering sea in the after hours of the night… Attempted to cleanse the wounds with melodies and lights, a bulletproof bandage to shield what lies beneath,” read the post. “In a place where the seasons never changed, where time ceased to exist. But therein lays the problem. Today has felt like an endless spin, I keep distorting the truth, immune to the dizziness, numb to the nausea. What lies beneath — screams in silence.”
The singer added, “More songs could help, but what do I have left to say? Woe is me in my gilded cage, right? The very thing that once made me invincible failed me on the world stage. A new trauma surfaced, opening floodgates. A new path awaits. When today ends, I’ll discover who I am.”
