Abel Tesfaye—better known to the world as The Weeknd—is stepping out of the music spotlight and into the director’s chair with Hurry Up Tomorrow, a highly anticipated feature film set to shake up both the music and film industries.
Directed by indie filmmaker Trey Edward Shults, the film has already stirred intrigue with Shults describing it as “Raging Bull meets Purple Rain.” It’s a bold comparison—blending the raw emotional intensity and stylistic grit of Scorsese’s classic boxing drama with the vibrant, music-driven soul of Prince’s iconic 1984 film. If that fusion sounds ambitious, it’s because it is—and that’s exactly the point.
Hurry Up Tomorrow tells the story of a musician caught in the storm of sleepless nights, fame-induced isolation, and a crisis of identity. He spirals into a surreal journey alongside a mysterious stranger, blurring the line between reality and dream. While plot details are under wraps, the film promises a psychological edge, grounded in emotional truth and elevated by a heavy dose of visual flair.
This project marks Tesfaye’s first full-length feature and also acts as a companion piece to his upcoming sixth studio album of the same name. That album, in turn, closes a trilogy that began with After Hours and Dawn FM, two records steeped in cinematic themes, character arcs, and richly developed aesthetics.
The film features Tesfaye in the lead role, with rising stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan joining the cast. Their presence hints at a story built on intensity, charisma, and psychological depth. With Shults’ reputation for crafting deeply emotional and visually dynamic films (Waves, It Comes at Night), and Tesfaye’s commitment to storytelling through music, this collaboration feels like a natural evolution.
What’s most exciting is how Hurry Up Tomorrow seems to embrace hybridity—of genre, of medium, of tone. It’s not just a musician acting or a director playing with music videos—it’s a full-bodied artistic experiment, a blurring of performance, emotion, and style.
With a global release slated for May 16, 2025, fans of cinema and music alike are watching closely. And if the early buzz is any indication, Hurry Up Tomorrow may be one of the most talked-about crossovers in recent memory.
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