If you’ve been anxiously awaiting Lady Gaga’s big screen debut, you’re in luck.
The release date of Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born recently moved up from September 28, 2018 to May 18, 2018. The film, which stars Gaga as up-and-coming performer Ally and Cooper as washed-out country singer Jackson Maine, is a remake of the 1937 original starring Hollywood starlet Janet Gaynor. Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos, as well as comedians Dave Chappelle and Andrew Dice Clay, have supporting roles.
The move from September to May is kind of surprising—awards show hopefuls usually come out in fall or early winter, and with Cooper and Gaga (who’ll be credited as Stefani Germanotta, her birth name) at the forefront, A Star Is Born is likely to generate at least a little bit of Oscar buzz. But according to Variety and Deadline, studio executives saw an early cut of the movie and were so impressed with Cooper and Gaga’s performances that they decided September was too long of a wait.
Gaga’s got a lot to live up to; along with Gaynor, she’s following in the footsteps of music legends Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand (who led the 1954 and 1976 A Star Is Born remakes). But, like Streisand, Gaga actually composed and performed original songs for the film, meaning that her on-screen turn as a young, talented ingénue may be as (if not more) personal and affecting as those of her predecessors.
Plus, Gaga’s been working on A Star Is Born for quite a while—she mentions the project within the first few minutes of her new documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, which was filmed in the months leading up to and following the release of her newest studio album, Joanne. Based on that, as well as her impressive performances in American Horror Story: Hotel and Roanoke, Gaga’s clearly just as dedicated an actor as she is a musician.
