Taylor Swift has previewed the cinematic music video for “Patient Zero,” revealing appearances by Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell ahead of its premiere at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Swift unveiled a 13-second teaser for “Patient Zero” on Thursday, Sept. 24, showing a series of atmospheric scenes involving water, a graveyard and a black rose.
The preview begins with Swift standing before a bathroom mirror before shifting to footage that appears to show Swift and Johnson entering the water.
Later shots show two figures in a snow-covered cemetery, while Swift appears tearful in another scene.
The music video features cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, whose credits include The Revenant, Birdman and Gravity. His involvement gives the project a notable filmmaking connection beyond Swift’s performance.
The video arrives as Swift prepares for a major appearance at the 2026 VMAs, where she has received nine nominations across categories including video of the year, best pop, cinematography, editing and visual effects.
She is also nominated for artist of the year and best album for The Life of a Showgirl. Swift will additionally receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors, recognizing artists whose work behind the camera has contributed to music-video storytelling.
“Patient Zero” is scheduled to be released Friday, Sept. 25. The song will also appear on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, an expanded edition containing four new tracks: “Patient Zero,” “Pink Clouding,” “Babylon” and “Cleveland!”
Swift said the additional songs were written in Sweden with collaborators Max Martin and Shellback while celebrating the original album’s success.
The full “Patient Zero” video is set to premiere Sunday, Sept. 27, during the MTV Video Music Awards.
