‘A Tree Is Blue’: Dakota Johnson Will Direct Jessica Alba & Charli XCX in Her Feature Debut

Dakota Johnson has always felt like a filmmaker in waiting. The actor-producer, whose career has quietly built toward deeper authorship and emotional precision, will now step behind the camera for her feature directorial debut, “A Tree Is Blue.” Written by Vanessa Burghardt, a first-time screenwriter who co-starred with Johnson in “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” the film will star Jessica Alba and Charli XCX — an arresting and unconventional pairing that hints at something both intimate and stylistically off-center.

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As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, story details are being kept under wraps. Still, the project is being developed through Johnson’s production company, TeaTime Pictures, which she co-founded with Ro Donnelly. Over the past few years, TeaTime has emerged as one of the more discerning indie banners — backing projects like “Am I OK?” and “Daddio,” each defined by emotional honesty, lived-in humor, and a kind of disarming vulnerability. “A Tree Is Blue” feels like an extension of that ethos, a filmmaker’s first expression built from the same quiet curiosity and empathy that have guided Johnson’s career choices.

Johnson previously co-directed Coldplay’s “Cry Cry Cry” music video with Cory Bailey, a simple yet elegant piece that showcased her eye for rhythm and emotion, and she has long shown an instinct for storytelling that prioritizes subtle human moments over formal showmanship. She also directed the short film “Loser Baby,” starring Talia Bernstein, who also wrote the screenplay, as well as Chelsea Frei, Jessy Hodges, Blake Lee, Ashley Madekwe, Whitmer Thomas, and Addison Timlin. Across films like “The Lost Daughter,” “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” and “Daddio,” Johnson’s work as an actor has been steeped in emotional intelligence — her performances often defined by silence, restraint, and flashes of self-awareness that linger in the air. It’s not difficult to imagine that sensibility guiding her as a filmmaker, translating interiority into image.

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That Jessica Alba and Charli XCX are part of the ensemble adds an intriguing tonal tension. For a debut filmmaker, it’s a sharp bit of casting that feels instinctively right rather than calculated.

No production start date or distributor has yet been announced, but clearly, Dakota Johnson isn’t merely a compelling performer; she’s an artist who’s clearly itching to express something behind the camera, too.