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What to expect from Frank Ocean’s first film produced by A24?
Nearly eight years after his last album, Blonde, Californian singer-songwriter and rapper Frank Ocean is back with a new project. But it won’t be an album. This time, the artist is directing a film produced by the well-known studio A24 Films. The filming has just begun in New Mexico.
By Chloé Bergeret.
Frank Ocean to direct a feature film
His albums Channel Orange (2012) and Blonde (2016) rank among the Rolling Stone magazine 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2024, Apple Music named Blonde the fifth greatest album ever, just behind Prince’s Purple Rain and The Beatles’ Abbey Road. Yet, Frank Ocean is taking his sweet time releasing his third record.
What if the Grammy-winning American singer and composer Frank Ocean was changing course? He had already stepped behind the camera when he wrote and directed Endless in 2016. That visual album was exclusively released on Tidal, the streaming platform created by producer Jay-Z. This will be his very first large-scale cinematic project.
According to several American media, the musician is writing and directing his own feature film, in collaboration with the independent studio A24 – the production company behind Ex Machina, Euphoria, and Midsommar – and 2AM – the British company behind the upcoming film Babygirl starring Nicole Kidman and collaborator of Wim Wenders. The artist confirmed that the filming began in New Mexico at the end of January 2025. For this new venture, fans are also hoping that Frank Ocean will compose new songs for the soundtrack.
David Jonsson and Taylor Russell to star in Frank Ocean’s film
As for the cast, American actor David Jonsson, seen in Alien: Romulus (2024),will take on the lead role. Several American journalists also reported that Canadian actress Taylor Russell (Bones and All) might join the cast. That news is now official.
After her breakthrough performance in another A24 production titled Waves (2019) and directed by Trey Edward Shults, the actress continues to carve out her path in the cinema industry… Waves is a poignant film about the grieving process of an African-American family, which features several of Frank Ocean’s tracks like Godspeed and Seigfried.
Frank Ocean’s debut feature film does not have a release date yet.
