Frank Ocean is reportedly set to direct his debut movie, with independent studio A24 in talks to distribute the project.
According to Discussing Film, A24 – the company behind Uncut Gems and Everything Everywhere All At Once – and another production company, 2AM, are both in line to work on the unnamed project.
Ocean has a connection to A24, having licensed his music to a number of the studio’s films in the past – including Waves, which featured his songs ‘Godspeed’ and ‘Seigfried’ – and wrote the foreword to a published version of Moonlight in 2019.
A24’s previous link-ups with musicians include a production deal with Travis Scott in 2021, with Scott’s company Cactus Jack signing up for a series of films.
It was also reported in 2020 that Ocean had been working on a “secret” project with Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino. No further details about the potential plot, cast or release date of Ocean’s latest potential film have been confirmed yet.
Despite being confirmed for Coachella 2023, the last glimpse of new music from Ocean came on Christmas Day last year, when he shared a new song on his Apple Music show, Blonded Radio.
Ocean added that the new song, which appears to be untitled, was recorded in a single take with Cory Henry in summer 2020. It also included some new additions that the musician had added to it “more recently”. “Felt like it fit the wabi-sabi of Wim’s words,” he explained. “Merry Xmas everyone.”
The song, which played at the end of the radio episode, features the musician rapping over a sparse piano accompaniment. “I could be great, I’m on my way / If I wanna escape, I can escape,” Ocean can be heard saying at one point. Listen to it above and tune into the full Blonded Radio episode here.
