Taylor Swift released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on Friday and with it a music video for the lead single, “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. And while Swift’s fans had been eagerly anticipating not just the album and the music video after days (and really, months) of trying to decode clues and teases about what various theories and Easter eggs could mean there’s one surprise fans couldn’t have predicted when the Fortnight music video debuted: an unexpected Dead Poets Society reunion.
In the music video, actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles appear seemingly as doctors or scientists trying to get Swift’s music video character to forget her affair with Post Malone’s character. The scene — and the video itself on the whole — has some distinct Universal Monsters/Frankenstein vibes — but for movie fans, the surprise reunion is a major treat, one that Swift herself even wrote about in introducing the video.
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“When I was writing the Fortnight music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music. Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another,” she wrote. “For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it. Post Malone blew me away on set as our tortured tragic hero and I’m so grateful to him for everything he put into this collaboration. I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, Ethan Hawke, and Josh Charles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets). I still can’t believe I get to work with the unfathomably brilliant Rodrigo Prieto on cinematography and my team of dream collaborators: Ethan Tobman (production design), Chancler Haynes (editor), Anthony Dimino (1st AD), Jil Hardin (producer) and Dom Thomas (executive producer). Parliament aced the VFX as always. Joseph Cassell, Lorrie Turk, and Jemma Muradian made these tortured looks come to life. The entire crew made this a dream to shoot. Thank you to everyone involved and everyone who has watched it!!”
Fans Also Think The Tortured Poets Department May Address Dazzler Rumors
The release of The Tortured Poets Department has also reignited the discourse surrounding a pervasive rumor that Swift could have a cameo appearance in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine with the crux of that rumor being that she’ll appear as fan-favorite X-Men and canonical pop superstar Alison Blaire/Dazzler. One of the songs on the album, “Clara Bow” repeatedly includes a lyric about being “dazzling” prompting many fans to wonder if that’s just a coincidence or something more. It’s worth noting that at this time, the rumors of an appearance by Swift in the film are merely rumors — and even the film’s director Shawn Levy has indicated fans won’t know for sure until the film comes out in July.
What’s Next For Taylor Swift?
Even with her latest record out, Swift isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Her record breaking The Eras Tour is set to continue its international leg starting up again in Paris in May. It was also reported in late 2022 that Swift will direct a feature film for Searchlight pictures, though there has not been much in the way of updates about that project since.
Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, is out now. You can also watch Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) on Disney+.
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