Did Taylor Swift Write 'Argylle'? Why Fans Think So
Leave it to Swifties to start the most outrageously believable rumors about one of this year's hottest new films.
The 2024 cinematic world is starting strong with a slew of eagerly awaited films. This month, fans were excited to see the musical comedy remake of Mean Girls, where Lindsay Lohan made a surprising cameo. But among the most highly-anticipated movies this year is Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, a spy comedy film boasting an all-star cast including Henry Cavill, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Dua Lipa. While the film is already generating its deserved attention, Argylle went trending on the Internet when rumors spread that Taylor Swift may have written the novel the film was based on.
How did these rumors start? Firstly, there’s a notable lack of information about the author behind the recently published novel with the same title. All we know is that one Elly Conway wrote it; no biographical details, photos, social media presence, or any indication of additional works are publicly available. In other words, she is entirely anonymous. So, when the film project was announced in 2021, many soon speculated that “Elly Conway” might be a pseudonym for a well-known personality. This speculation didn’t seem so far-fetched, especially given that Argylle served as Conway’s debut novel yet already secured a major film deal before it was even published, reportedly valued at $200 million for the rights.
But why did many point to the global pop icon all of a sudden? There were many clues that hopeful Swifties used to prove their idol was the real author. For one, the film also features a spy novelist named Elly Conway, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, as one of the main characters. But, what’s uncanny about this detail is her portrayal: a redhead with bangs, a style that most closely resembles Swift’s appearance towards the end of All Too Well: The Short Film, where she's a published author, just like Conway. Moreover, when these rumors started to spread, fans instantly recalled a photo Swift posted on her Instagram in 2023 (slide 4 below), in which she wore a hoodie with the words “Conway Studios” written on it.
Perhaps a tiny part of us wanted Swift to be the real Elly Conway. Yet, as much as all the theories were quite believable, Vaughn dismissed the rumors in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “It was actually my daughter who came up to me [...] and said, ‘You never told me Taylor wrote the book! [...] And I was laughing because I was like, ‘It’s not true! She didn’t write the book,” Vaughn said. “There is an Elly Conway who wrote the book, but it’s not Taylor Swift,” he added.
But just because Swift didn’t write the novel doesn’t mean she had no role to play. According to Vaughn, Swift inspired the Scottish Fold featured in the film, which is actually the family’s cat, Chip. In the same interview, Vaughn noted that his daughters convinced him and his wife, Claudia Schiffer, to buy them one after seeing Swift’s Scottish Fold in Miss Americana in 2020.
In short, we hate to burst your bubble, Swifties, but she didn’t write this one. But that doesn’t mean she won’t ever write a novel. After all, Swift is a singer-songwriter with ten studio albums and even more re-recorded albums and extended plays under her belt–never say never.
