Taylor Swift’s new video for “Patient Zero” has officially arrived, and it may be Swift’s darkest yet.
Swift premiered the new video at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday after dropping a teaser for the project days earlier on social media. The song is one of the four tracks off the encore edition of Swift’s 2025 albumThe Life of a Showgirl, which she released on Sept. 25.
The moody, psychological thriller-inspired “Patient Zero” video stars Swift alongside Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell. In the video, Johnson plays the wife of a wealthy businessman (Farrell) who begins to suspect that her perfect husband may be manipulating and gaslighting her. Swift portrays his previous wife, an heiress who, at the end of the video, is revealed to have been killed by Farrell’s character. The ghost of Swift’s character attempts to warn Johnson’s to “run” before it’s too late.
Also appearing in the video briefly is Cara Delevingne, a longtime pal of Swift’s, who plays the “other woman” whom Johnson’s character suspects of flirting with her husband.
This is the first time Swift and Johnson have worked together, but the two are friends. They were spotted out to dinner together in New York City in 2025, and this April, Swift penned an essay praising Johnson when the Materialistsstar made Time’s 2026 list of 100 most influential people.
“As her friend, I can vouch for her realness, but add that she’s also one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever known,” Swift wrote at the time.
Speaking to the Associated Press on Sept. 24, Johnson called filming the music video “the best.”
“It’s so much fun to work with your friends,” she said. “Like I love hanging out with her, so hanging out and making stuff is really fun.”
In an interview with the Fan Girl Nation alongside her Veritycostar Josh Hartnett, Johnson again shared that the experience of making “Patient Zero” was “so fun.”
“Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time, and we’re very close, and we decided to work together,” she said. “And it’s great. Like normally, I would say don’t work your work with your friends, but we work really well together.”
This video shares thematic similarities to Johnson’s upcoming filmVerity, a psychological thriller based on Colleen Hoover’s 2018 novel of the same name. In the film, out Oct. 2, Johnson plays a writer named Lowen tasked with taking over a mystery series from Anne Hathaway’s titular character. Along the way, she finds herself entangled in a strange web of deception, murder and unreliable narrators.
The “Patient Zero” premiere wasn’t the only major moment for Swift at the VMAs this week. The “Fate of Ophelia” star, who was tied with Beyoncé at 30 wins following the 2025 award show, was nominated 11 times this year. By taking home the inaugural Artist Director Honors, Swift officially became the VMAs’ most awarded artist.
While Swift is well known for her music, the VMAs also highlight another passion of hers: directing. She helmed the music videos for “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite,” both nominated in different categories this year, as well as a slew of other videos from her catalog. Swift took home the Video of the Year award for “The Fate of Ophelia,” the last award at the VMAs.
In 2022, it was announced that she planned to direct her first feature film from her own script in partnership with Searchlight Pictures. Thus far, no further details have been revealed.
