Charli xcx is heading back to the big screen, and this time she will be sharing it with two of the biggest movie stars on the planet. The Grammy-winning pop singer, 34, is reportedly set to make a cameo in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film What Happens at Night, joining stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio in what is already one of the most talked-about projects in Hollywood.
The casting news was first reported by Variety, and it instantly set social media alight. According to the report, Charli will appear in a cameo role in the film, which also stars Mads Mikkelsen, Patricia Clarkson and Jared Harris. Details of her character remain under wraps, but the pairing makes perfect sense to anyone who has been following the singer’s recent career: earlier this year she released her album Music, Fashion, Film, whose cover image featured none other than Martin Scorsese himself.
What the Film Is About
What Happens at Night is an adaptation of Peter Cameron’s 2020 novel of the same name, with a script by Patrick Marber. The story follows a married American couple who travel to a snowy European town to adopt a baby. After checking into an eerie hotel, they encounter a series of unusual characters, including a chanteuse, a businessman and a faith healer, as reality begins to blur and they start questioning their lives, according to the film’s synopsis.
The project is being described in some corners as a gothic horror film and in others as a psychological horror, a dreamlike tale where nothing is quite as it seems. DiCaprio, 51, and Lawrence, 35, gave fans their first look at the production back in March, when DiCaprio, Scorsese and Apple TV shared an image of the two stars holding hands against a snowy backdrop. The film is being produced by Apple TV and StudioCanal, and Deadline first reported Scorsese’s plans to direct it in September 2025.
(Colleen Sturtevant / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0))From the Album Cover to the Cast List
Charli’s connection to Scorsese is not new. Her 2026 album Music, Fashion, Film was photographed by Aidan Zamiri, and its black-and-white artwork brought together three figures representing the creative worlds celebrated in the album’s title: Scorsese for film, musician John Cale for music and fashion designer Marc Jacobs for fashion. She announced the 11-track project in June before its July 24 release.
The album followed another film-related project for the singer: her soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights, released in February, which included “House,” her collaboration with Cale. The casting announcement for What Happens at Night feels like the natural next step, with the director returning the favor after Charli put him on her record sleeve. Representatives for Charli and Apple TV did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(John Gillespie / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0))A Growing Acting Résumé
Beyond her music, Charli has been steadily building her acting career. The Brat singer starred in 2025’s 100 Nights of Hero, while her 2026 credits include Faces of Death and I Want Your Sex. According to industry reports, she has appeared in seven films over the past two years, including the mockumentary The Moment and Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist, making her one of pop’s most committed screen converts.
The film, widely described as a gothic thriller and thriller film, does not yet have a release date. Production was already underway when the first-look image surfaced in March, and with pre-production long complete, fans will be watching closely for when the project lands. For Charli, who is currently on her Music, Fashion, Film Tour, the Scorsese cameo marks another step in a crossover that now looks less like a side project and more like a second career.
(Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0))Scorsese and DiCaprio: A Seventh Collaboration
For DiCaprio, What Happens at Night marks his seventh feature collaboration with Scorsese, following Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street and Killers of the Flower Moon. The partnership has produced some of modern cinema’s most decorated performances, and each new entry arrives with awards-season expectations baked in. Lawrence, meanwhile, brings her own heavyweight credentials to the snowy European set, making the central couple one of the most star-powered pairings in recent memory.
The supporting cast adds further prestige. Mads Mikkelsen, Patricia Clarkson and Jared Harris are the kind of character actors who elevate every scene they touch, and the film’s eerie hotel setting gives each of them room to be memorably strange. Clarkson previously worked with Scorsese on Shutter Island, another film where reality proved unreliable.
The Gothic Wave in Hollywood
Charli’s casting also lands at a moment when gothic storytelling is enjoying a full revival. Studios have rediscovered the commercial power of candlelit dread and haunted atmosphere, and a Scorsese entry in the genre carries the weight of a master filmmaker validating the trend. For Charli, who has described herself as a huge horror fan, the project aligns personal taste with professional ambition.
She announced on October 20 that she had to cancel her scheduled performance in Glendale, Arizona, after losing her voice while battling an illness during the tour, but she still planned to perform at her scheduled October 23 show in Las Vegas. If anything, the packed calendar proves the point: Charli xcx is operating at a level where pop stardom and cinema now run on parallel tracks.