Scarlett Johansson headlines Prada’s latest cinematic campaign, Ritual Identities, a short film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos that Prada describes as contemporary surrealism. The project continues Johansson’s long-running association with Prada’s Galleria leather handbags and marks the first collaboration with Lanthimos on a Prada short.
Johansson spoke about the collaboration in interviews, saying the process thrives on discovery and collaboration. "This Prada campaign really comes from Yorgos' unique mind and whatever magic is created between the two of us as artists," she told WWD. "The performance — the collaboration — is opened up. This process of discovery is what makes any creative collaboration special. Filmic shorts like this are a playful collaboration for actors and directors — it gives us an opportunity to work together in a different manner." The remarks underscore how the project frames identity as a fluid, multi-faceted concept rather than a single character.
Prada has positioned Ritual Identities as a lens into the Galleria line, exploring the various forms and styles the brand has represented over the years and the fluidity of persona. Johansson has described the campaign as a contemplation of the identities that live within all of us — the masks we wear and the different people we are in different relationships. In her Instagram caption announcing the campaign, she referenced the campaign’s stated aim of reinterpreting the Galleria through Lanthimos’ filmmaking lens and noted the collaboration with Prada as a form of self-expression.
In promotional material and interviews, Prada has suggested the film illuminates the many forms the Galleria can take and the persona shifts that can accompany the brand’s wardrobe. Johansson expanded on the idea of identity beyond a single role, saying the project is less about inhabiting one character and more about presenting different versions of herself that emerge in different contexts. The film’s experimental tone, she indicated, invites viewers to experience how identity can be performed rather than fixed.
Beyond Prada, Johansson has been active with her beauty line, The Outset, which recently collaborated on skin survival kits tied to promoting resilience in challenging filming environments. She noted during a video post that filming for the campaign included extended periods in Thailand, in jungle conditions and open water, where skin was put through harsh climates. She credited The Outset and the constant use of her everyday essentials for keeping skin hydrated and radiant throughout production and during the shoot for her role in the Jurassic World franchise’s latest instalment, reemphasizing how branding efforts can intersect with an actor’s on-set realities.
The campaign arrives at a moment of reflection for Johansson as she revisits earlier collaborations with mentors from her early career. A resurfaced interview linked to the death of Robert Redford, who died at 89, recalls their work together on The Horse Whisperer (1998) when Johansson was 13. Redford directed the drama and also acted in it, and Johansson has long described him as an ideal collaborator who understood actors and their process. In a 1988 Today Show interview cited in coverage surrounding Redford’s passing, Johansson recalled how he communicated so effectively with young performers and helped them anchor their performances. In May this year, she described him again in interviews with Deadline, praising his actor-focused approach, patience, and ability to create an intimate space on set—qualities she said were instrumental to her early development as an actor.
The Prada campaign thus threads together Johansson’s ongoing work with the brand, her collaboration with Lanthimos, and a broader dialogue about identity, performance, and memory in cinema. While fans have embraced the surreal, dreamlike visuals and the cloning-like motifs as a signpost toward future genre work, the project remains a standalone exploration of persona, rather than a promise of a specific genre shift. As Johansson herself has noted, the project is about exploring different versions of oneself in different relationships and environments, a theme that resonates across both fashion campaigns and the evolving landscape of contemporary cinema.