The Weeknd is taking fans on one final ride — and it’s 150 feet in the air.
As Coachella 2025 hits its second weekend, the enigmatic artist returns to the desert not just as a headliner, but as a cinematic architect. His much-hyped “Ferris Wheel Takeover” is more than a performance gimmick — it’s a full-sensory prelude to his upcoming psychological thriller, Hurry Up Tomorrow, dropping May 16 through Lionsgate.
The surreal activation transforms the iconic Coachella ferris wheel into a physical and thematic extension of the film’s world — a place where insomnia, identity, and unraveling sanity collide. “SEE YOU IN THE DESERT,” The Weeknd teased on Instagram, alongside an inverted ferris wheel poster drenched in eerie tones and mystery.
Directed by Trey Edward Shults, Hurry Up Tomorrow stars The Weeknd — credited under his real name Abel Tesfaye — in a fictionalized role that mirrors his internal battles. Co-written and co-produced by Tesfaye, the film also features standout performances from Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, with a haunting score created in collaboration with experimental producer Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never).
The film serves as a companion piece to The Weeknd’s final album under his famed alias. Also titled Hurry Up Tomorrow, the 22-track LP completes the trilogy he began with After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022). Since its release in January, the album — featuring Lana Del Rey, Travis Scott, and Justice — has topped the Billboard 200 and earned praise for its cinematic production and emotional depth.
More than just a soundtrack, the album and film represent the curtain call on The Weeknd’s decade-defining persona — a character arc laced with fame, distortion, and eventual transcendence. As he wraps his After Hours Til Dawn world tour and pivots into acting, the Coachella takeover feels like a symbolic passing of the torch.
It’s his first appearance at the festival in two years, following a surprise 2023 cameo during Metro Boomin’s set. And while he’s previously headlined in 2018 and 2022, this year’s return marks a different kind of headline — one where the screen meets the stage, and the wheel keeps turning.
As Hurry Up Tomorrow nears its release, The Weeknd once again proves that no one blurs the lines between music, film, and spectacle quite like him. The trilogy may be ending, but the vision is just beginning.
Stay tuned to hit-channel.com for exclusive behind-the-scenes looks, film reviews, and deep dives into the final chapter of The Weeknd’s legacy.