After a storied 58-year journey through cinema, Steven Spielberg stepped into the music world in a bold, intimate way. He directed and captured Marcus Mumford’s latest single, Cannibal, using just a mobile phone and doing it in one seamless take. The project was announced by Mumford on social media, signaling a fresh cross between rock storytelling and video capture that feels almost documentary in texture.
On Sunday, July 3, in a New York high school gym, Spielberg directed Cannibal in a single, uninterrupted shot. The creative team on set included Kate Capshaw, Spielberg’s wife and an actress with a long career in front of the camera, who helped oversee production and artistic direction. Carey Mulligan, renowned for her work in film and stage and known to fans of The Great Gatsby, contributed to the project in a role touching the film’s costumes and sound. The process reportedly impressed Mumford, who publicly expressed gratitude for the collaboration and the unwavering support from everyone involved. The sentiment was echoed in a thread where he thanked the team and noted the astonishment at their generosity and talent.
Marcus Mumford, long known as a member of Mumford & Sons, is releasing Cannibal as a solo single. It serves as a preview of a forthcoming album slated to arrive on September 17, making this video a pivotal moment in his creative arc and a strong signal of the direction fans can expect from the release. The collaboration with Spielberg adds a distinctive cinematic layer to an artist exploring new musical territory.
In parallel, Spielberg is planning a return to the big screen with a semi autobiographical feature that draws from his own childhood. The project is anticipated with curiosity in the United States and beyond, with fans awaiting a sense of the director’s early life brought into focus on screen. The director’s birthplace is Cincinnati, Ohio, with the new film’s premiere targeted for Thanksgiving, November 24, and the project expected to offer a reflective look at formative experiences that shaped a long and varied career. The blend of a veteran filmmaker guiding a contemporary musician through a one-take video mirrors today’s trend toward fast, authentic storytelling that resonates across audiences in Canada and the United States. This moment underscores Spielberg’s enduring ability to reinvent his craft while staying true to the human aspects of storytelling that viewers everywhere value. (cite: industry press reports and official announcements)