Abel Tesfaye, professionally known as The Weeknd, is putting down the mic and picking up the script for his next big project.
Singer-songwriter The Weeknd has always been known to have a darker side – with peccable-like lyricism and sultry melodies that are sure to leave you wanting another taste.
In recent years, The Weeknd has taken on a more cinematic stance with his music, with high-production music videos and consecutive themes throughout his album, Dawn FM. However, it appears the artist it looking to push his capabilities even further and really step into the world of film.
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The singer is set to star in a currently untitled feature film, which will become his first lead movie role. Not only will The Weeknd be acting, but he’s also said to have co-written this film and will be getting even more hands on as a co-producer, leaving us even more curious of the eerie twists and pulls he’ll take with this new movie.
Although this is Tesfaye’s first lead movie role, it’s not his first film rodeo. The artist made his acting debut in A24’s 2019 film, Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler and Julia Fox. In fact, In an interview with Variety, Josh Safdie (Director of Uncut Gems) comments on Abel’s love for film: “He has a desire for the silver screen — he really, really really cherishes that, It’s awesome. And he sees such small, esoteric stuff…He’s always looking for stuff.”
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The film will also star Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega and Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan, who’s currently being nominated for his role as Dominic Kearney in The Banshees of Inisherin. Both actors have dabbled a bit in thriller genre (Scream remake for Ortega, The Killing of a Sacred Deer for Keoghan), so that in conjunction with Abel’s mysteriousness, we wonder if we can expect a more suspensful film in the works.
Aside from Tesfaye, the film also has a list of notable co-writers – Reza Fahim (The Idol, 2023), Trey Edward Shults (Waves, 2019), Kevin Turen (Pearl, 2022), and Harrison Kreiss (X, 2022).
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In a 2020 Interview with Rolling Stone, Tesfaye was asked to talk about the screenplay he was working on and said the following: “I’m trying to find a perfect balance with the film and the music, and so far it’s going really well. I think I might have cracked the code.”
Let us know what you think about The Weeknd’s new project by leaving a reaction below or sending us a tweet @celebsecrets.
