Photo: Andrew Cooper
Abel Tesfaye has released a trippy trailer for his upcoming film based on his latest album.
On Tuesday, February 4, the artist formerly known as The Weeknd shared the first look into his new movie Hurry Up Tomorrow starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. The clip begins with an upside-down cityscape followed by a scene of Tesfaye sitting in a tub full of water. Ortega's character Anima handles the ominous voiceover in the beginning before "The Idol" star repeats "Call me by the old familiar name" throughout the trailer.
"Death is nothing at all. It does not count," Ortega says. "Everything returns exactly how it was."
According to a press release, the psychological thriller surrounds "a musician plagued by insomnia" who "is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence." The film is directed by Trey Edward Shults and written by Shults, Tesfaye and Reza Fahim. Tesfaye and Fahim also produced the film with Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss. Hurry Up Tomorrow appears to build on Tesfaye's mission to leave his beloved moniker in the past. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Shults was asked if the movie will effectively kill off "The Weeknd" for good. He said it's "absolutely" possible.
"I tried to make the movie in a way where, for his fans and people who want to approach it at that level, I hope it's very satisfying and you get a good meal out of it," he said. "And for people that aren't his fans and don't know anything about him or even care about the final capping of the Weeknd, I think you still have a great movie to go through."
"This experience was really introspective and cathartic for me," Tesfaye told EW. "From writing to production and through post — I realized just how much of a catalyst this art form can be for conversations about our emotions, mental health, and vulnerabilities."
Hurry Up Tomorrow is scheduled to arrive on May 16. Watch the trailer below.