Taylor Swift shares teaser for 'Patient Zero' music video starring Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson

A new teaser has been shared for Taylor Swift's music video for her upcoming single 'Patient Zero' and it stars the singer alongside actors Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson.

The exclusive 13-second first-look clip (Swift's lucky number) was shared by "CBS Mornings" on Thursday (September 24) ahead of the song coming out on Friday, along with The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, a deluxe edition of her 2025 album with four new songs.

The video features the work of Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who worked on The Revenant, Birdman and Gravity.

At the beginning of the snippet we see a mirrored image of Swift washing her hands in a bathroom, then two figures that appear to be Swift and Johnson swimming underwater together, followed by them standing and looking up at a male statue.

Stills from first look clip at Taylor Swift's 'Patient Zero' music video

CBS

Someone places a black rose on a snow-covered grave, with the next appearing to show Swift putting her hand on Johnson's back as they look at the grave in front of them, both of them wearing all black.

There's a close up of a tearful Swift as she looks off to the side, showing off a rock on her finger, we then see Farrell getting out of a car, followed by a concerned Johnson dressed up in white at a gala or event of some kind stumbling towards the camera.

It then cuts to Swift, Farrell and Johnson all in one shot, Johnson sat on a chair staring at Farrell who puts his coat on another chair while Swift walks forward, and all of them are wearing black.

All the while, a melancholic violin instrumental plays throughout the track - pretty ominous stuff...

Swift later shared the clip on her social media, with the caption on when the video will premiere: "This Sunday. @vmas."

It is at the MTV Video Music Awards where Swift is set to be honoured with the inaugural Artist-Director Award.

Fans also soon noted that Swift left an Easter egg in her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit sketch at the 2026 Emmy that Johnson would be starring in the music video, as the singer said, "North or South" was referring to Dakota.

Why not read...

• Was Taylor Swift wearing engagement ring in 'Patient Zero' cover art?
• Taylor Swift announces new single and deluxe album - all the clues she teased

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.