Hurry Up Tomorrow is finally coming out next week — it is a new film by Trey Edward Shults and stars Abel Tesfaye, better known by his stage name The Weeknd. Partially inspired by the Grammy-winner’s own musical career, Hurry Up Tomorrow is a psychological thriller about an insomniac musician, Abel, whose world is rattled when he encounters a mysterious stranger named Anima. From there, he will go on a painful journey that, by the looks of the Hurry Up Tomorrow trailers, is surrealistic and taxing.

The film is an interesting meeting of minds, its three main stars being Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega, and Barry Keoghan. All of these actors come from different backgrounds, with Tesfaye best known for his work in the music industry. Ortega began her career as a child actor and is now best known for playing the тιтular character in the Netflix series Wednesday. Keoghan is an Oscar nominee (for The Banshees of Inisherin) who has taken on numerous quirky and idiosyncratic roles. To get a better understanding of their work, there are some key projects to check out before watching Hurry Up Tomorrow.

7

Uncut Gems (2019)

Directed By Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie

The Weeknd has been appearing in music videos for over a decade, which is a form of acting experience. His first on-screen feature film appearance, however, was in the 2019 movie Uncut Gems. The last film by the Safdie Brothers before their creative split, Uncut Gems follows the story of a New York City jeweler who gets himself into some serious trouble when he risks everything for a client.

Tesfaye plays a version of himself in Uncut Gems, set in 2012 when the would-be Grammy winner was still up-and-coming as an artist. He is referenced several times in the script by the main characters before finally being seen in a club later on. Uncut Gems and Hurry Up Tomorrow could exist in interesting conversation with one another, because both have Tesfaye loosely playing himself, with the 2024 film being a fictionalized, stylized imagining.

6

It Comes At Night (2017)

Directed By Trey Edward Shults

It Comes At Night was the movie that put Shults, Hurry Up Tomorrow‘s director, on the map. It was actually his second feature, as the director made his debut in 2015 with Krisha. It Comes at Night is a horror thriller that focuses on the inhabitants of a desolate home as they face a mysterious unnatural threat. It features a leading cast including Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Hurry Up Tomorrow is not described as a horror film, but it does situate itself within the thriller genre. Its pacing seems to be a bit more frenetic than that of It Comes At Night, which is a slower-burn movie. Nonetheless, It Comes At Night is a good way to pregame the Tesfaye-led film, because it gives a sense of where Shults is coming from in the thriller side of his filmography, and also tells a story that focuses intimately on a few characters.

5

Waves (2019)

Directed By Trey Edward Shults

Shults branched off from Krisha and It Comes At Night with his third feature, Waves. This movie has been used to promote Hurry Up Tomorrow, with trailers noting that the film is “from the director of Waves.” Waves was well-received at the time of its release, garnering an 84% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a similarly positive 81% from audiences. The marketing team behind Hurry Up Tomorrow already seems to be hoping that the previous film’s acclaim will lure some audiences in.

Prior to Hurry Up Tomorrow, Waves is by far the most stylistically distinctive movie within Shults’ filmography. Playing with formal elements such as aspect ratio and sound, the film really uses the tools of cinema to drive its story. While Hurry Up Tomorrow has not yet been released, the first looks at the movie reveal its vibrant color palette and a rhythmic quality that suggests it could take on similar forms.

4

The Fallout (2022)

Directed By Megan Park

In the popular eye, Jenna Ortega is best known for leading the smash-hit series Wednesday. In the film world, she is known for her scream queen status, contributing her talents to movies like Scream, Scream VI, and X. One of her best on-screen roles, however, is in the 2022 direct-to-streaming film The Fallout. In this Megan Park-helmed film, Ortega plays a high school student named Vada who has to grapple with her inner turmoil and a fraught friendship after a local tragedy.

The Fallout really highlights Ortega’s propensity for drama. Whereas the Scream movies keep her more in the overstated horror register, this film is a much more intimate character study, delving into Vada’s psychology. The exact nature of Ortega’s role as Anima in Hurry Up Tomorrow is not yet known, but given The Fallout‘s genre, there could be some overlap between her characters in both films.

3

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017)

Directed By Yorgos Lanthimos

Ortega and Tesfaye play the main characters in Hurry Up Tomorrow, but Keoghan occupies a key supporting role, playing Lee. Lee acts as Abel’s manager, with trailers leaving the character’s intentions vague. Keoghan has an interesting filmography that includes copious fascinating roles, but The Killing of a Sacred Deer is among his most unique. The film is by Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter Yorgos Lanthimos and focuses on a family whose life falls apart when the teenage boy they take under their wing starts acting more sinister.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is by far one of Keoghan’s most off-the-rails works. His full character arc in Hurry Up Tomorrow is unknown, but the trailer makes it seem like at least Tesfaye and Ortega are unstable. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a great way to get a sense of just how unhinged Keoghan can go when called upon, and generally get a feel for his earlier work before checking out his new 2025 тιтle.

2

Miller’s Girl (2024)

Directed By Jade Bartlett

Starring Ortega and Martin Freeman, Miller’s Girl is arguably the Wednesday star’s most controversial work to date. The film chronicles the story of a high school teacher, Jonathan Miller, who develops a boundary-crossing, complex relationship with a student (Ortega) after a creative writing ᴀssignment. Miller’s Girl received pretty poor reviews, sitting at 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the discourse surrounding it in and of itself makes it an interesting watch.

Albeit in a more problematic scenario, Miller’s Girl portrays an age-gap relationship. This idea could be mirrored in Hurry Up Tomorrow should Abel and Anima engage in a romantic relationship, as Ortega is 22 years old and Tesfaye is 35. Even if it does not go down that route, the movie will still express some kind of intense relationship between its protagonists, one of whom is played by Ortega, making Miller’s Girl a good film to watch before Hurry Up Tomorrow.

1

The Green Knight (2021)

Directed By David Lowery

Before he was Oliver in the 2023 hit Saltburn or a recurring character in Masters of the Air, Keoghan was a scene-stealer in The Green Knight. By director David Lowery, the film is a fantastical retelling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Keoghan plays the role of the Scavenger in the movie. He only has a few minutes of screen time, but for the moments he is in, he is incredibly effective and appropriately unsettling.

Hurry Up Tomorrow seems to focus on its two leads more than it does Keoghan, so he may again play more of a supporting role. The Green Knight came before his Oscar nomination for The Banshees of Inisherin, so he is much more apt to get a bigger role now. Nonetheless, The Green Knight is a great example of what Keoghan is capable of even with limited screen time, making it a good film to watch before his latest performance.