Dakota Johnson is officially preparing to step behind the camera for her feature directorial debut. While the “Materialists” star has directed before—including Coldplay’s “Cry Cry Cry” music video in 2020 and the short film Loser Baby in 2024—she revealed at the 2025 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival that she’s now ready to tackle a full-length film. In the world of film, Dakota Johnson continues to break barriers.
Dakota Johnson On New Movie
With Dakota Johnson taking the lead, the project is expected to have a fresh perspective. As Dakota Johnson navigates this new path, she remains committed to authenticity.
“I think I will direct a feature, a very small one, hopefully soon,” Johnson told reporters during a press roundtable, per The Hollywood Reporter. “And it’s really close to my heart and very close to TeaTime,” she added, referring to TeaTime Pictures, the production company she co-founded with Ro Donnelly. The project will star Vanessa Burghardt, who played her daughter in Cha Cha Real Smooth and whom Johnson described as “an incredible autistic actress.”
Johnson admitted she previously lacked the confidence to direct a full-length film. “I’ve always felt that I’m not ready to direct a feature. I don’t have the confidence,” she said. “But with [Burghardt], I feel very protective, and I know her very well, and … I just won’t let anybody else do it.” Fans are eager to see how Dakota Johnson will shape her film career.
The film, currently in development, is based on a script by Burghardt. “She’s written a script, and it’s really special, and it’s about a young woman with autism,” Johnson said at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, per Variety. “I feel very protective of her,” she added, calling Burghardt “just an unbelievable woman.” Overall, Dakota Johnson’s future as a director looks promising.
Known for her candidness, Johnson also reflected on her own fears about stepping into the director’s chair. “I want to direct and I need to grow the f—— balls to do it,” she joked at Cannes, before correcting herself: “Actually, no, I don’t. I’m not going to grow balls, and no one can make me.”
When it comes to choosing projects through TeaTime, Johnson said she’s drawn to work that is “either visually or emotionally provocative… not in a sexual way, but in a way that provokes something different than what you see on TV or streaming right now.” She added, “A lot of them are also female characters… female-centric films where the woman is different from what you see, and complex and nuanced, and maybe an anti-hero that you love.”
Johnson and Burghardt’s connection dates back to “Cha Cha Real Smooth”, the 2022 Sundance hit produced by TeaTime Pictures. The two portrayed a mother-daughter duo in the film, and their real-life bond has clearly influenced Johnson’s desire to take creative control over this next chapter in storytelling.
With her directing debut on the horizon, Johnson is poised to add “filmmaker” to her list of titles—this time, bringing a story she deeply believes in to life.
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