Adele to make acting debut in Tom Ford’s adaptation of ‘Cry to Heaven’

Grammy-winning British singer Adele is set to make her acting debut in a new film from fashion designer and director Tom Ford.

The project, an adaptation of the 1982 Anne Rice novel "Cry to Heaven", will be Ford’s third film, following on from 2009’s adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s novel "A Single Man", and the 2016 crime thriller Nocturnal Animals.

"Cry to Heaven" takes place in 18th Century Italy and follows an unlikely duo - a Venetian noble and a castrated maestro a – who work together in the hopes of leaving their mark on the opera world.

Deadline reports that Adele will star alongside huge names like Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Thandiwe Newton, Ciarán Hinds, George MacKay, Paul Bettany, Nicholas Hoult, Owen Cooper – the breakout star of Netflix’s drama series Adolescence, who went on to become the youngest male Emmy winner this year.

Adele is currently taking a break from music after completing a huge residency in Las Vegas.

“I don’t have any plans for new music, at all,” Adele said last year. “I want a big break after this, and I think I want to do other creative things, just for a little while.”

The singer had previously warned fans there would be a long wait for her fifth album, as told the audience during a ‘Weekends with Adele’ Las Vegas performance last year that she didn’t think she would “write an album for quite some time.”

Tom Ford launched his eponymous fashion brand after serving as creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. He made his directorial debut in 2009 with the Oscar-nominated A Single Man. His second film Nocturnal Animals won the Grand Jury prize at Venice, bagged nine BAFTA nominations, as well as a supporting actor Oscar nomination for Michael Shannon.

Cry To Heaven is reportedly in pre-production in London and Rome, with shooting set to begin in the new year. The movie is expected to arrive in cinemas later in 2026.