Among the many 2025 movies on the way, one is for all the fans of The Weeknd. The “Blinding Lights” singer has co-written a movie inspired by his next album called Hurry Up Tomorrow, and Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan are his castmates. As we wait for more details for the thriller, The Weeknd had some glowing things to say about Ortega’s work on the project.
After Jenna Ortega had a big year by being the star of one of 2024’s big hits, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the actress is going to have a massive one with numerous projects set to be released in 2025. One of them had her working closely with a global pop star. Here’s what The Weeknd had to say about co-starring with the 22-year-old in a recent interview with Variety:
Jenna brought so much depth to the character. There was a scene where Trey and I looked at each other like, ‘On paper, this is just ridiculous — how is it going to translate on screen?’ And she said, ‘I have an idea.’ She led that whole scene — none of it was rehearsed, and a lot of my reactions in it are not acting.
The Weeknd shared being in awe of the young actress, and given all the work we’ve seen from her so far, I’m not really surprised. Hurry Up Tomorrow is directed and co-written by Terry Edward Shults, who also helmed 2017’s It Comes At Night and 2019’s Waves. While we really don’t know anything about the plot, The Weeknd’s description of Jenna Ortega’s performance definitely has me more intrigued about what’s to come.
It sounds like Jenna Ortega was a huge asset to the production of Hurry Up Tomorrow, and she found a way to add her own mark on the character that had not been considered by the two main creatives behind the movie. Ortega also had her own comments for The Weeknd (born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) after starring alongside him for his feature debut:
Abel is such a sweetheart, and really looked out for everyone on our set. It was so great getting to know him and help bring his vision to life.
Both talents must have bonded over their love for horror. The Weeknd has had houses at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights for three years in a row that showcase the artist’s ability to share haunting visions alongside his hit-making music. Previously, he starred in The Idol, which garnered strong opinions from critics and was later cancelled by HBO.
Ahead of the Hurry Up Tomorrow movie, The Weeknd’s new album will come out next week on January 31. The movie is heading to theaters on May 16 from Lionsgate., and the artist has also announced that he’ll have a tour for the album as well.
Regarding what’s next for Jenna Ortega outside of her movie with The Weeknd, other upcoming Jenna Ortega movies and TV shows include a dark comedy with Paul Rudd called Death of a Unicorn coming in March, the Klara and the Sun movie adaptation and Wednesday Season 2.