‘Patient Zero’: Taylor Swift Teams Up with Dakota Johnson, Colin Farrell; Music Video to Debut at VMAs 2026
Taylor Swift has announced 'Patient Zero', a new music video directed by Swift herself and cinematographed by Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki, starring actors Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell alongside the pop star ahead of its world premiere at the MTV VMAs.
Singer and pop star Taylor Swift's upcoming music video titled "Patient Zero" is set to feature actors Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell. The song will world premiere at the MTV VMAs on Sunday. Dakota and Colin will star alongside Swift in the video for the new song, which is directed by Taylor Swift. The singer shared a glimpse of her upcoming music video on her X handle on Thursday. VMAs 206: Taylor Swift To Receive First Ever Artist Director Honour at MTV Video Music Awards.
The teaser includes clips of Swift and Johnson mirroring each other: across a bathroom sink, diving into water and standing together at a grave. A close-up shot of Swift crying, offering a great view at her engagement ring to Travis Kelce, follows. Farrell then steps out of a car and the three meet, all dressed in black.
The video’s cinematography is by Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki, who also shot Tom Cruise’s new movie Digger, reported Variety.
Watch Taylor Swift's ‘Patient Zero’Teaser Featuring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell
According to Variety, Swift revealed "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore" on Wednesday after announcing "Patient Zero" the day before. The album is an expanded version of last year’s 'The Life of a Showgirl,' which includes four new tracks: "Patient Zero", "Cleveland!", "Pink Clouding" and "Babylon".
“About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind… You gave "The Life of a Showgirl" the biggest first week for an album in history,” Swift wrote in her announcement of the album.
“I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album. Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs. I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made,” added Taylor Swift on her Instagram handle. MTV VMAs 2026: Madonna, BLACKPINK’s Lisa and More Stars Set To Perform.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift is also set to receive the inaugural Artist Director Honours at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), recognising her contributions to music video direction and visual storytelling, E! News reported.