Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group
BY Megan LaPierrePosted on December 20, 2024
We still don’t know when the Weeknd’s trilogy-concluding new album will arrive, but we do know it’s called Hurry Up Tomorrow. And, as it turns out, there will also be a movie of the same title — starring the artist born Abel Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan — set for worldwide theatrical distribution through Lionsgate.
UPDATE (12/20, 2:32 p.m. ET): While the album it coincides will is now officially set for release on January 24, the movie will premiere in theatres on May 16, according to Variety. The suspense thriller is being described as a “first-of-its-kind theatrical experience.”
UPDATE (1/13, 9:45 p.m. ET): Hurry Up Tomorrow (the album) has been postponed to January 31 “out of respect and concern for the people of Los Angeles County” amid ongoing wildfires.
According to Deadline, the entertainment company has secured the rights to the musical Mental Mystery directed by Trey Edward Shults. The film serves as an extension to the album and was composed by Tesfaye and Daniel Lopatin.
“Abel is a visionary whose art cannot be confined by any single medium,” Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “With Hurry Up Tomorrow, in partnership with Trey, his musical universe expands onto the big screen with a psychological thriller that will usher in a new cinematic experience for fans. We are thrilled to be bringing it to audiences worldwide.”
Tesfaye’s film production company, Manic Phase — as well as Reza Fahim, the late Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss — will produce Hurry Up Tomorrow. Ortega and Shults are also serving as executive producers alongside Michael Rapino, Ryan Kroft, Wassim “Sal” Slaiby and Harrison Huffman.
While we all know Tesfaye has appeared on the small screen in his controversy-filled HBO show The Idol, this will mark his first time starring in a feature film. So far, he’s released three singles that will presumably appear on the album: “Dancing in the Flames,” “Timeless” with Playboi Carti and “São Paulo” with Anitta.