Patient Zero teaser: Taylor Swift teams up with Dakota Johnson, Colin Farrell

Pop star Taylor Swift has brought Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell into the world of Patient Zero, casting the two actors in the music video for her upcoming song and revealing them in a new teaser on Instagram. The 13-second clip gives the first look at the self-directed visual, with Swift and Johnson appearing together in several scenes, including one at a gravesite, while Farrell also features in the cinematic teaser.

The video is set to have its world premiere during the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27. Swift is also set to be honoured at the ceremony with the inaugural Artist-Director Award, also referred to in the rollout as the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors. Sharing the teaser on Thursday, she wrote: “This Sunday. @vmas”. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

As Swift prepares to debut the Patient Zero video at the VMAs, Johnson has spoken about what it was like to collaborate with one of her longtime friends. In an interview with Fan Girl Nation, alongside her Verity co-star Josh Hartnett, the actor said, “Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time, and we’re very close,” before adding, “And we decided to work together, and it’s great.”

Johnson added, “Normally, I would say don’t work with your friends. But we work really well together.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ambar Lee (@ambardriscoll)

The two have remained friends for years. In April, Swift wrote about Johnson in a TIME profile marking the actor as one of the magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2026. In that profile, Swift praised Johnson’s frankness and described her as someone whose candour makes it feel like she “can’t lie”.The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore

Patient Zero serves as the first look at The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore. Before sharing the teaser, Swift had announced the album on Instagram and said it would feature four new songs. She posted the album cover and wrote at length about the past year of The Life of a Showgirl.

She wrote, “About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind: You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history. I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album. Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs”.

Swift added, “I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made. The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore including four new songs is out on Friday and available to pre-order and save now”. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)Run up to the teaser

Swift had first put a date to the mystery around Patient Zero earlier this week, announcing that the new single would arrive on September 25 after a two-hour countdown on her website ended. She followed that with an Instagram post carrying the song’s cover and the message: “I've been impatiently waiting to tell you that my brand new single Patient Zero will be out on September 25 (!!!!!!!!!!!!) (sic).”

The artwork and the wider campaign have signalled a darker mood. On the cover, Swift is dressed in black, leaning against a concrete wall and staring into the camera. The song is available to pre-order through her website, with acoustic and piano versions also offered, each with separate artwork. The piano edition shows Swift posing thoughtfully while displaying her engagement ring. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

Her website has also shifted from its earlier sparkly orange design to a dark grey look and now features three new CD single editions of Patient Zero, each showing Swift dressed in black on the cover. The site also links the song to her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, though Swift has not officially described it as a bonus track.

Before the announcement, Swift had been dropping clues. On Tuesday, she changed her Instagram bio to read, “And, baby, that's sh0w business f0r y0u.” Apple Music lyrics for Showgirl were also altered so that words containing the letter O appeared with zeroes instead, and her social media profile picture was updated as well.

Patient Zero is set to be Swift’s second new music release of the year, following I Knew It, I Knew You, which appeared on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack in June.

Her earlier album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on October 3, 2025.- EndsALSO READ | Used art to escape: Taylor Swift on 'hate frenzy' during Reputation era