Taylor Swift is set to make her feature-length directorial debut with a new film for Searchlight Pictures.
The award-winning singer-songwriter has written an original script, details of which are unknown. Swift has previously directed videos for All Too Well and The Man, winning MTV VMAs for both. All Too Well: The Short Film is also eligible for next year’s Oscar for best short film.
“Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller. It is a genuine joy and privilege to collaborate with her as she embarks on this exciting and new creative journey,” said David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield, presidents of Searchlight, the company behind films such as Nomadland, Black Swan and Slumdog Millionaire.
During a discussion at this year’s Toronto film festival, Swift expressed desire to move into movie-making. “I’d love to keep taking baby steps forward,” she said. “And I think that I’m at a place now where the next baby step is not a baby step. It would be committing to making a film. And I feel like I would just absolutely love for the right opportunity to arise because I just absolutely, absolutely adore telling stories this way.”
Swift also said she wanted to tell “human stories about human emotion” and could see herself going to a “more comedic, irreverent place”.
As an actor, Swift recently made a small appearance in David O Russell’s Amsterdam and has also starred in Cats, Valentine’s Day and The Giver.
Next year will also see Swift embark on a tour, her first all-stadium tour since 2018. It’s projected to be the highest-grossing US tour of all time.
After recent releases The Menu, The Banshees of Inisherin and Empire of Light, Searchlight’s other forthcoming films include two films from Yorgos Lanthimos, both starring Emma Stone, and Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut Being Mortal.
