Bryce Dallas Howard Leads Apple TV’s Star-Studded Spy Film, Argylle

From Fingernails to Killers of the Flower Moon, Apple TV is on a bit of a film run as of late. Next up is Argylle, a star-studded spy thriller with one standout character: a cat. Here’s everything we know so far.

Argylle: Everything We Know So Far

Directed by Matthew Vaughn – who has previously directed the likes of Stardust (2007), Kick-Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class, and the Kingsman films (a man of many talents) – Argylle is an upcoming comedy spy thriller following a super-spy named Argylle (Henry Cavill) across the US, London and a bunch of exotic locations. It’s all very meta: the film is based on a real-life novel of the same name by first-time author Elly Conway, who features in the film, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. The twist? It turns out Cavill’s character is actually Elly’s fictional creation.

On a podcast, Vaughn explained that Argylle the film would be based on the fourth volume in Conway’s Argylle series, saying: ‘I read the book, they bought the manuscript of the book, and met with [writer Jason] Fuchs, and we just came up with this.’

What Will Happen?

Elly Conway is an introverted novelist, best known for her Argylle spy series. But her life is turned upside down when Elly is accidentally drawn into the world of espionage following a chance encounter on a train. As the plots of her novels start hitting a little too close to home for a sinister underground spy syndicate, a real spy called Aiden (Sam Rockwell) shows up to save her from being kidnapped or killed (or both), and Elly and her beloved cat Alfie are thrown into a covert world where nothing is as it seems.

Who Stars?

• Henry Cavill as Argylle
• Bryce Dallas Howard as Elly
• Sam Rockwell as Aiden
• Catherine O’Hara as Elly’s mother
• Bryan Cranston
• Dua Lipa
• Ariana DeBose
• John Cena
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Sofia Boutella
• Rob Delaney
• Jing Lusi

Most importantly, Alfie is played by Chip, the real-life cat of model Claudia Schiffer, who is the wife of the film’s director, Matthew Vaughn.

What Does Taylor Swift Have To Do With Argylle?

The latest wild theory about Taylor Swift? That she is the real-life Elly Conway. It all started after it was revealed that Apple paid $200 million for the book deal – which would be huge for a first-time author. There’s also little trace of Conway online, bar an Instagram account with just a handful of followers. So where did Swift come into it all?

Well, a handful of sleuthy Swifties spotted a few things which made them conclude the singer must be Conway, including the film trailer’s portrayal of the novelist, which does have a Swiftian aesthetic. A Scottish Fold cat also features in the trailer, a type of cat famously owned by Swift. And there’s the fact Conway’s first Instagram post dropped on Swift’s birthday.

So the rumours haven’t come from nowhere… but Vaughn has since debunked the conspiracy. He told Rolling Stone: ‘There is a real book … and it’s a really good book. And there is an Elly Conway who wrote the book, but it’s not Taylor Swift. And I say that because I imagine Taylor Swift has a load of people trying to jump on her bandwagon left, right, and centre. I don’t want to be a part of that club. I did read the conspiracies and I was like, “Wow, they don’t leave a stone unturned!” But it’s not Taylor Swift. She definitely didn’t write the book.’ The mystery continues…

Alfie (Chip) with director Matthew Vaughan

First Look At Apple TV’s Argylle

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