Abel Tesfaye

Eager fans of The Weeknd have something to look forward to, with Lionsgate officially setting a release date for his upcoming film Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Directed by Trey Edward Shults (Waves, It Comes At Night), Hurry Up Tomorrow will mark The Weeknd’s (aka Abel Tesfaye) feature-starring debut, and serves as something of an extension of his forthcoming album of the same name. While the record is slated for release on Jan. 24, the film has now been given a release date of May 16.

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“Abel is a visionary whose art cannot be confined by any single medium,” said Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in a statement upon the company’s acquisition of worldwide distribution rights. “With Hurry Up Tomorrow, in partnership with Trey, his musical universe expands onto the big screen with a psychological thriller that will usher in a new cinematic experience for fans. We are thrilled to be bringing it to audiences worldwide.”

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The Hurry Up Tomorrow film is both inspired by and features new music from The Weeknd, who scored the film with frequent collaborator Daniel Lopatin (also known as Oneohtrix Point Never). The film also serves as the conclusion of his artistic trilogy that began with 2020’s After Hours and continued with 2022’s Dawn FM.

Alongside Tesfaye’s starring role, Hurry Up Tomorrow features Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan in supporting roles, with production handled by Tesfaye’s own film and television production company Manic Phase and producing partner Reza Fahim, along with the late Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss.

Ortega, Shults, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, Ryan Kroft, The Weeknd’s manager Wassim “Sal” Slaiby and Harrison Huffman are all listed as executive producers on the film. Chayse Irvin serves as director of photography, Elliott Hostetter is the production designer, and Erin Benach and Hannah Jacobs are the costume designers.

In May 2023, Tesfaye spoke to W Magazine to claim that his next studio album would be the final record released under The Weeknd moniker. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn,” he said at the time.

“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd,” he added. “This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”