The Weeknd Lands First Feature Film Starring Role Opposite Jenna Ortega

The Weeknd is gearing up for his first starring role in a feature film, where he’ll appear opposite breakout Wednesday star, Jenna Ortega.

According to a report from Deadline on Tuesday (February 28), Abel co-wrote the as-of-yet untitled film and will also serve as producer. The Banshees of Inisherin‘s Barry Keoghan is the only other cast member revealed thus far, while co-writer Trey Edward Shults has been tapped to direct.

Little details are known about the plot, but Ortega and Keoghan reportedly joined the film after reading the script and being “blown away.”

While this will serve as The Weeknd’s first starring film role, he’ll sooner star in HBO’s forthcoming series, The Idol. The superstar singer also co-created the show, doing so alongside Euphoria’s Sam Levinson.

The Idol follows a Los Angeles club owner and cult leader (The Weeknd) who enters into a complicated relationship with a rising pop star (Lily-Rose Depp).

The cast also includes Troye Sivan, Debby Ryan and Rachel Sennott, with former Saved by the Bell star Elizabeth Berkley, Power Book II: Ghost actress Melanie Liburd and the late Anne Heche having recurring roles – though it’s unclear what the status of her role is since her passing.

related news

The Weeknd Drops Video To 'Avatar' Theme Song 'Nothing Is Lost'

January 16, 2023

Produced by A24, Bron Creative, Little Lamb and HBO Entertainment, The Idol was first announced in June 2021 and began shooting in and around Los Angeles in November of that year. In April 2022, however, it was reported the show was going in a new creative direction amid changes to its cast.

“The Idol‘s creative team continues to build, refine, and evolve their vision for the show and they have aligned on a new creative direction,” HBO said in the statement. “The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series.”

A release date for The Idol has yet to be announced.

On the music side of things, The Weeknd recently broke the all-time record for most monthly global listeners among all artists in Spotify history.

With 94.734 million monthly listeners, The Weeknd overtakes Ed Sheeran who previously had the record with 82.40 million. Other names in the top five include Justin Bieber (81.43m), Taylor Swift (81.21m) and Ariana Grande (77.18m).

The news arrived just a couple of weeks after The Weeknd’s 2019 smash hit “Blinding Lights” became Spotify’s most streamed song of all time.