Dear reader, if you’re looking for answers regarding the theories that Taylor Swift secretly penned the Argylle book under a pseudonym, you’re just going to have to keep reading between the lines. The cast of the book’s upcoming film adaptation has now responded to the rumors, and even they can’t say for sure.
“I mean, they were amazing,” said leading lady Bryce Dallas Howard of the theories in a Tuesday (Jan. 23) interview with Entertainment Tonight. “And I think in many ways, [the Swifties are] certainly not wrong about the inspiration of Taylor …”
“I mean, certainly – there are, you know – it’s unconsciously inspired by Taylor Swift,” added the Jurassic World star.
Headed for theaters Feb. 2, the spy flick starring Howard, Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa and more was inspired by the official debut novel Argylle by Elly Conway. The first-time author reportedly landed a $200 million movie deal with Apple for the fourth book in her reality-blurring secret agent series.
Conway also has zero social media presence, and almost nothing is known about her aside from her writings. That combined with the handful of Swiftian parallels in her works — namely the inclusion of a Scottish fold cat, of which Swift owns two — has led fans on a wild goose chase to prove that Argylle was penned by the 34-year-old pop star in secret.
“I mean it would be kind of cool,” noted Cavill, who plays the film’s titular character. “What if we double-bluffed and it actually was her?”
Director Matthew Vaughn, however, has a more no-nonsense take on the matter. “The Taylor Swift [theory] came up on my radar ’cause my daughter told me off on not telling her. She said, ‘You’re not cool, dad. You’ve got to introduce me,’ and I said ‘I do not know Taylor,’” he told the publication.
“It is not true,” Vaughn added, but not without admitting there is definitely a strange “amount of odd connections” between Argylle and the 12-time Grammy winner.
