Adele is set to make her acting debut in the new film from Tom Ford.
According to Deadline, the fashion designer and film-maker’s third feature will be an adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1982 novel Cry to Heaven, a drama set in 18th century Italy.
The singer will star alongside Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ciarán Hinds, Thandiwe Newton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Hunter Schafer, Daryl McCormack, George MacKay, Paul Bettany and Adolescence breakout Owen Cooper. The 15-year-old, who became one of the youngest ever winners of a primetime Emmy award for his role in the Netflix drama, will next be seen in Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
The story follows two unlikely collaborators trying to succeed in the world of opera: a Venetian noble and a castrated maestro from Calabria. The New York Times Book Review’s Alice Hoffman called it “bold and erotic, laced with luxury, sexual tension, music” while the Washington Post’s Joseph McLellan called it “an absorbing look at a fascinating and little-known world”.
The film will mark Ford’s third film after the Oscar-nominated Christopher Isherwood adaptation A Single Man and the dual narrative thriller Nocturnal Animals starring Amy Adams. In 2023, Ford said he was now more interested in film than fashion.
“I loved making the two films that I made,” he said in a GQ interview. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’m 62. Hopefully, I’ll remain somewhat together until 82. So I wanna spend the next 20 years of my life making films. And the clock is ticking. And so it was time to say goodbye to fashion. Fashion is a younger man’s game.”
Cry to Heaven is in pre-production in both London and Rome this year and the shoot will begin in January with a release date eyed for later in 2026.
Adele had previously been rumoured to make her acting debut in The Death and Life of John F Donovan from Xavier Dolan who directed her video for Hello. “I’m sure I’ll get some flak for this, but I actually would like to act after working with Xavier,” she said at the time. “I would be in a film for him, definitely.”
While a song of hers appeared in the final cut, the singer herself ultimately didn’t. The film received mostly negative reviews with a 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Last year, after a string of sell-out shows in Munich, Adele announced she would be taking an indefinite break from music.
Cry to Heaven follows on from a string of recent Anne Rice TV adaptations including a new take on Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches and Talamasca: The Secret Order.
