Anne Hathaway to play Taylor Swift-inspired popstar in new film
Anne Hathaway 's next role has been decided with the Hollywood A-lister playing a Lady Gaga - Taylor Swift style popstar who has a hidden dark side.
The new film, Mother Mary, will see her star alongside Michaela Coel, with the pair reportedly playing a " lesbian power couple". Coel, best known for playing Arabella Essiedu in BBC's I May Destroy You (2020), fills the shoes of a fashion designer and a long-time friend of Hathaway's character who played an instrumental role in her public persona.
An authentic story told partially through music, with a soundtrack boasting the likes of Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff, as well as plenty of singing and dancing. All directed by David Lowery who has credits including A Ghost Story (2017), The Green Knight (2021) and Pete's Dragon (2016).
Opening up on the role — and the complex choreography required for it — in an interview with Vogue, Hathaway remarked: "I had to submit to being a beginner. The humility of that, showing up every day knowing you're going to suck, and it has to be okay.
"You're not 'bad, you're just a beginner. Getting to that mindset — I had to shed some things that were hard to shed. It was welcome. But it was hard, the way transformational experiences can be hard."
"My body was so locked up, I literally couldn't take a deep breath. I'd been trying to open that space for years and I thought it was physically impossible. All my breath, it was stuck."
While Coel has revealed how she got herself immersed in the role, frequenting techno clubs in Cologne, Germany during filming — and even invited Hathaway along with her. She also described the writing as "vivid" and explained how the cast were "forced into an intensity" over the course of filming.
Such intensity was evident in one scene in particular, Lowery explained: "It felt like shooting Apocalypse Now. At one point Annie [Hathaway] broke down and said, 'I have to apologise, because I think what's going to come out of me will hurt you,' and Michaela [Coel] took her hands and said, 'I love you, I trust you.'"
Mother Mary is said to be an "epic pop melodrama following a fictional musician and her relationship with an iconic fashion designer", according to Deadline. While other reports claim both Hathaway and Coel will play a "lesbian power couple battling fame".
Hathaway and Coel will be joined by Jessica Brown Findlay, Sian Clifford, Alba Baptista, FKA twigs, Kaia Gerber and Hunter Schafer in supporting roles. A release date is yet to be confirmed, though it is expected to land sometime in 2026.
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