Into The Music
Dua Lipa is about to become one of the few pop stars who can claim a genuine acting career alongside a music one, and the gap between those two things is closing faster than anyone expected.
Peaked, the new A24 comedy directed by Molly Gordon, has added Lipa to its cast. The film centers on two friends navigating a 10-year high school reunion, and while details about her specific role have not been disclosed, the production is set to begin next month. The rest of the ensemble is notable: Emma Mackey, Laura Dern, Alex Consani, and Connor Storrie round out a cast that signals A24 is treating this as something more than a light comedy romp.
This is not a vanity cameo. Lipa has already appeared in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and the 2024 spy film Argylle, both of which gave her real screen time even if neither film made her the central draw. She also hosted Saturday Night Live, where she proved she has timing and comfort in front of a live audience. None of that was an accident.
What is interesting here is the kind of film she is choosing. A24 comedies are not popcorn fare. When A24 makes a comedy, it tends to be messy and emotionally specific, the kind of thing that demands actors who can hold awkwardness without flinching. That Lipa is being cast in that context suggests the people making this film actually believe she can do the work.
Pop stars crossing into acting is a long and complicated tradition with a failure rate that most people prefer not to discuss. For every credible crossover there are a dozen examples of records flopping and films tanking in the same year. The difference with Lipa is that she is not trying to make her brand bigger through film. She seems to be genuinely curious about it, which tends to produce better results than strategic calculation.
A release date for Peaked has not been announced. But if production starts in April, an awards-season window in late 2026 or 2027 is plausible. Watch this one.
I remember when people said the same skeptical things about Cher doing film , that it was a vanity project, that it wouldn’t last. And then Silkwood happened and nobody said that again. A24 is not exactly a soft landing for someone coasting on celebrity. If Dua Lipa has chosen that route, I’d give her the benefit of the doubt before the film even comes out. I saw Diana Ross in Mahogany in 1975 and yes it was a mess, but at least she swung for something real. I hope Dua does too.