3 Minutes
Tom Ford returns with a lavish literary adaptation
Tom Ford, the fashion designer turned filmmaker, is heading back to the director’s chair with a fresh adaptation of Anne Rice’s Cry To Heaven — and the casting news has already created a buzz. Best known in cinema for A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals, Ford is writing, directing and producing this period drama through his company Fade To Black. The film promises Ford’s signature visual elegance applied to a story of music, rivalry and personal freedom set in 18th-century Italy.
Why Adele’s casting matters
Pop superstar Adele will make her feature-film acting debut in Cry To Heaven, a move that joins a recent trend of high-profile musicians stepping into major movie roles. While Gaga’s performance in A Star Is Born set a high bar for singer-actors, Ford’s film appears poised to use Adele’s vocal and emotional range within a richly atmospheric historical drama rather than a straightforward musical biopic.
Cast and characters
The ensemble is star-studded: Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kieran Hinds, George MacKay, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Paul Bettany, Owen Cooper, Daniel Quee-toy, Hunter Schafer, Josephine Tinson, Thandie Newton, and others. Notably, Aaron Taylor-Johnson reunites with Ford after their work together on Nocturnal Animals, and Colin Firth returns to Ford’s world two decades after his Oscar-nominated turn in A Single Man.
What to expect from the story
Anne Rice’s novel, set amid the opulence and cruelty of 18th-century opera, centers on two men navigating ambition, identity and revenge in a world where music can both elevate and entrap. Themes of artistic freedom, betrayal and forbidden love are woven through operatic settings that naturally invite comparisons to films like Amadeus — though Ford’s modern sensibility and fashion-rooted eye suggest a distinctive, stylized take.
Production timeline and context
Cry To Heaven is in pre-production in London and Rome, with principal photography scheduled to begin in mid-January 2026. The release is planned for fall 2026. Filming in historic European locations should amplify the novel’s period textures, while Ford’s meticulous production design is likely to make the opera world feel immersive and tactile.
A word of critical perspective: casting a major singer in a dramatic role can be polarizing — it can bring emotional authenticity but also invites intense scrutiny. Still, with Ford’s track record for elegant, actor-driven films and a cast full of experienced performers, Cry To Heaven could bridge literary adaptation and cinematic spectacle.
Short concluding note: This project feels both classic and contemporary — an opera-era tale refracted through Tom Ford’s fashion-conscious cinematic lens, with Adele’s debut adding a new note of curiosity for audiences worldwide.
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