Charli XCX is reportedly set to make a cameo in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Gothic psychological horror film What Happens at Night, joining a cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. The project brings the singer and the acclaimed filmmaker together again following their recent connection through Charli’s album Music, Fashion, Film. Although details of her role have not been revealed, her reported involvement adds another high-profile film project to her expanding screen career.
The film follows a married American couple who travel to a small, snow-covered European town in the hope of adopting a baby. Their journey takes them to a mysterious hotel populated by unusual guests, including a singer, a businessman and a faith healer. As the couple encounter difficulties in bringing the child home, their understanding of themselves and their relationship begins to unravel. The story unfolds as a dreamlike, unsettling experience in which the couple struggle to distinguish what they know from what they believe.
DiCaprio and Lawrence play the married couple at the centre of the story. The supporting cast includes Mads Mikkelsen, Patricia Clarkson, Jared Harris and Welker White. Charli XCX’s reported cameo is being kept under wraps, and there is no confirmed information about the character she will play or how prominently she will feature in the film.
What Happens at Night is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Peter Cameron. The book’s unsettling premise and remote European setting provide the foundation for a story that moves beyond a conventional adoption drama. The film’s Gothic and psychological elements place the couple in an unfamiliar environment where the people they encounter and the circumstances surrounding their stay contribute to a growing sense of uncertainty.
Patrick Marber has adapted Cameron’s novel for the screen, with Scorsese directing the feature. Marber is known for writing Closer, which was adapted into the 2004 film directed by Mike Nichols, as well as the screenplay for Notes on a Scandal. His involvement brings a writer with experience in psychologically complex relationships to a story centred on a married couple facing an increasingly disorienting situation.
Scorsese is also producing the film through his company, Sikelia Productions. DiCaprio, Lawrence and Daniel Lupi are producers, while Apple Studios is making the film in partnership with StudioCanal. The project continues Scorsese’s collaboration with DiCaprio and Apple following Killers of the Flower Moon, the 2023 historical drama that received 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
Principal photography began in the Czech Republic in February 2026 and continued into April. Filming took place in Prague and several other locations across the country, with support from the Czech Audiovisual Fund and the Czech Film Commission. The production used a range of locations, including Prague’s historic buildings and smaller towns, providing settings for the film’s remote European environment.
The project marks Scorsese’s next feature following Killers of the Flower Moon. While the earlier film examined the murders of members of the Osage Nation and the exploitation surrounding oil wealth in 1920s Oklahoma, What Happens at Night moves into a different genre, drawing on Gothic atmosphere and psychological uncertainty. Both projects feature DiCaprio, although the new film centres on a very different kind of story.
Charli XCX’s reported involvement also extends a creative connection that recently brought her into Scorsese’s orbit. The filmmaker appeared on the cover of her album Music, Fashion, Film, released in July 2026. The black-and-white photograph featured Scorsese alongside musician John Cale and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, representing the three creative fields referenced in the album’s title. The collaboration linked the singer’s music project with two established figures from cinema and fashion.
The album followed the enormous cultural impact of Charli’s Brat era and reflected her growing engagement with film and visual storytelling. Her work in cinema has expanded beyond conventional soundtrack contributions, with acting roles and projects that place her directly in front of the camera. One of her recent screen projects is The Moment, a mockumentary directed by Aidan Zamiri that satirises the commercial success and cultural influence of the Brat phenomenon. She has also contributed music to film projects, including Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
Her reported cameo in What Happens at Night would bring her into a production led by one of cinema’s most influential directors and featuring two major Hollywood stars. However, the nature of her appearance remains undisclosed, and neither the filmmakers nor the production companies have publicly confirmed the reported casting.
The film’s release date has not yet been announced. Further details about the project, including Charli XCX’s role, are expected to emerge as the production moves towards its eventual release. For now, What Happens at Night brings together Scorsese’s interest in psychologically complex characters, a cast led by DiCaprio and Lawrence, and a source novel built around an unsettling journey into an unfamiliar world.