Dakota Johnson is stepping into Taylor Swift’s musical world as one of the stars of the upcoming “Patient Zero” video, which Swift will unveil Sunday at the MTV VMAs.
Swift revealed Johnson’s involvement Thursday through a cryptic 13-second preview. The brief footage shows the “Verity” actor alongside another woman and a man, although further details about their roles have not been confirmed. The mysterious clips quickly generated attention online.
Speaking Thursday at the London red carpet premiere of “Verity,” Johnson described the project as a chance to collaborate with a close friend whose artistic instincts she admires.
“Working with your friends is like the most fun thing on the planet because we’ve known each other for so long, we respect each other’s creative minds, and to be able to work alongside her and support and assist and be a person whom she tells what to do is wonderful,” Johnson said.
Johnson says working with Swift was “the best”
Johnson shared more about the collaboration during an appearance Thursday on Ambar Lee and Leah Briars’ “Fangirl Nation” podcast, emphasizing that her longstanding friendship with Swift made the experience particularly enjoyable.
“Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time and we’re very close, and we decided to work together and it’s great,” Johnson said. “Normally I would say ‘Don’t work with your friends,’ but we work really well together. It was so fun. So fun. It was the best. We just had the best time.”
Johnson also attended Swift’s star-studded wedding at Madison Square Garden this July.
The “Patient Zero” preview arrives during a busy series of announcements from Swift. She announced the single Tuesday, then followed Wednesday with news of “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” an expanded edition of last year’s “The Life of a Showgirl.”
The new edition adds four songs: “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.” “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” will be released Friday and is available to preorder and save.
Four new songs born from a celebration
In her social media announcement, Swift said the additional material emerged after she traveled to Sweden with Max and Shellback, her two collaborators on the album. The trip was intended as a celebration and a moment to reflect, but the presence of a studio led them back to songwriting.
“About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing,” Swift wrote. “Something that completely blew my mind… You gave ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ the biggest first week for an album in history.”
Swift explained that she went to Sweden to celebrate that moment with Max and Shellback and to take in how grateful they felt. Once the group found itself near a studio, however, they returned to their familiar creative process.
“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,” Swift wrote. “I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made.”
What Happens Next?
The full “Patient Zero” music video will make its debut Sunday at the MTV VMAs, revealing more about Johnson’s role and the identities and parts of the other figures seen in the teaser. Before then, all four new tracks will arrive Friday as part of “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore.”