Charli XCX lands a cameo in Martin Scorsese’s horror movie with DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence

Here’s one for the crossover crowd: Charli XCX is headed to the big leagues (well, even bigger leagues) as she’s just joined Martin Scorsese’s next horror feature, titled What Happens at Night. You don’t get much more A-list than this lineup: Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are the leads, and now you’ve got a proper pop powerhouse on board — though blink and you might miss her, as it’s only a cameo. Still, nothing wrong with a bit of goth atmosphere and a big name in the background.

The cast: Star power everywhere

Let’s run this down, because honestly, it reads like somebody tried to win at Hollywood Top Trumps. Scorsese is directing, naturally, and DiCaprio is playing "The Man". Lawrence takes on "The Woman". Rounding out the headlines is Mads Mikkelsen as Brother Emmanuel. Apparently, the whole thing is based on Peter Cameron’s 2020 novel and has been given a screenplay by Patrick Marber. It’s also co-produced by DiCaprio, Lawrence, Scorsese himself, and Daniel Lupi, with Apple and StudioCanal footing the bill.

• Leonardo DiCaprio as The Man
• Jennifer Lawrence as The Woman
• Mads Mikkelsen as Brother Emmanuel
• Patricia Clarkson
• Jared Harris
• Ilinca Manolache
• Gabriel Spahiu
• Welker White
• Charli XCX (cameo — details about her character are still tightly under wraps)

For those keeping score, the rest of the supporting cast is nothing to sniff at either — Patricia Clarkson, Jared Harris, Ilinca Manolache, Gabriel Spahiu and Welker White have all signed on.

Martin Scorsese is directing, with a screenplay by Patrick Marber based on Peter Cameron's novel, and both DiCaprio and Lawrence serve as producers alongside Scorsese and Daniel Lupi.

Charli XCX: The Movie Era

Charli’s not actually new to film and telly, but things have gone into overdrive off the back of her 2024 smash album Brat. She’s racked up seven films in two years (yes, seven!), including a tongue-in-cheek mockumentary called The Moment, directed by Aidan Zamiri, which pokes fun at the whole Brat phenomenon and how mad things got commercially. She’s popped up in I Want Your Sex, The Gallerist and Faces of Death as well — plus, an untitled Takashi Miike film is in the works, where she’ll be starring with Milly Alcock and Norman Reedus. Not too shabby for someone not even pretending to leave music behind.

In just two years, Charli XCX has notched up roles in seven feature films off the back of her Brat-era success.

She’s got TV credits in Gossip Girl (the reboot, obviously) and Overcompensating, for anyone keen on the small screen. If you need her music/cinema cred laid out even louder, her latest album is literally called Music, Fashion, Film, with a cover that shoves together icons from all those worlds — Scorsese included.

Her trophy shelf’s getting heavier, too: ten Grammy nominations, three actual wins, two of those for Brat (she took Best Dance/Electronic Album and also Best Recording Package for that one).

Apple Original Films are keeping schtum about the release date for What Happens at Night for now, so you won’t see Charli’s cameo just yet — but, well, if anyone knows how to build anticipation, it’s Martin Scorsese and a pop star who’s suddenly everywhere all at once.