Argylle Taylor Swift Rumors Debunked by Director

Argylle will arrive in theaters in just a matter of weeks, bringing one of the weirdest pop-culture flashpoints in recent memory to fruition. In addition to an all-star ensemble cast and a memorable trailer, Argylle sports a distinct story surrounding its source material — a just-recently-published novel from first-time author Elly Conway. There has been no shortage of speculation around Conway's real identity, with one prevailing fan theory being that the name is a pseudonym secretly being used by pop superstar Taylor Swift. Argylle director Matthew Vaughn is officially denying the theory, telling Rolling Stone that Swift is definitely not involved with the franchise in any actual way.

"I'm not a big internet guy, and it was actually my daughter who came up to me — this is the power of celebrity and the internet — and said, 'You never told me Taylor wrote the book!'" Vaughn revealed. "And I'm looking at her going, 'What are you talking about Taylor Swift wrote the book? She didn't write the book!' And I was laughing because I was like, 'It's not true! She didn't write the book!' But my daughter was convinced of it."

"There is a real book… and it's a really good book. And there is an Elly Conway who wrote the book, but it's not Taylor Swift," Vaughn continued. "And I say that because I imagine Taylor Swift has a load of people trying to jump on her bandwagon left, right, and center, and I don't want to be a part of that club. I did read the conspiracies and I was like, wow, they don't leave a stone unturned! But it's not Taylor Swift. She definitely didn't write the book."

Is Taylor Swift Elly Conway?

Argylle has been littered with coincidental ties to Swift, beginning with the film's Scottish Fold cat, Alfie, who the fictional Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) carries around in a brown cat backpack. In real life, Swift owns two Scottish Fold cats, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey, and could be seen carrying them around in a similar cat backpack in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana. Additionally, Swift has repeatedly been spotted wearing argyle sweaters (and has sold a similar sweater on her website since 2021), and was photographed wearing a Conway Recording Studio sweatshirt in rehearsals for her Eras Tour last year. Swift's 2021 music video All Too Well: The Short Film also ended with her as a redheaded author — not unlike the character of Conway. According to Vaughn, even though most of these comparisons to Swift are accidental, she did have an influence on one aspect of the Argylle film, as his real-life cat, Chip, portrays Alfie.

"Ironically, what she is responsible for is the Scottish Fold," explains Vaughn. "I got home one day, it was Christmas, and I was like, 'What the f-ck is that noise?' And I'm running around the house and I hear a noise, and the kids had seen a Taylor Swift documentary [Miss Americana] and there was a Scottish Fold in that, and they'd persuaded my wife, Claudia [Schiffer], to get them the kitten for Christmas. It was bought without my permission and hidden from me... As crazy as it sounds, that is our only Taylor Swift connection."

What Is Argylle About?

In Argylle, Elly Conway, an introverted spy novelist who seldom leaves her home, is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. When Aiden, an undercover spy, shows up to save her from being kidnapped or killed, Elly and her beloved cat Alfie are plunged into a covert world where nothing, and no one, is what it seems.

The film stars Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Catherine O'Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.

What do you think of the Taylor Swift Argylle theory finally being debunked? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!