Beyoncé Renaissance visuals: Everything we know about the upcoming film and music videos

19 December 2023, 17:26

Beyoncé and Balmain unveil Renaissance couture collection

By Sam Prance

Beyoncé is yet to reveal the release date of the Renaissance visuals but new reports suggest they're almost here and Nadia Lee Cohen has directed an entire Renaissance film.

It's been 84 years but still inside me coiled deep was the need to know...where are the Renaissance visuals? Do they exist?

Ever since Beyoncé released Renaissance, fans have been desperate to see what kind of music videos Beyoncé would put together for the project. Over the course of her career to date, Beyoncé has redefined pop as an art form by making visual albums. From B'Day to Lemonade, no other artist approaches music videos in the same way that Beyoncé does.

Renaissance marked the first time that Beyoncé ever released a project without any visuals to accompany it. In the press release for the album, Beyoncé's company, Parkwood Entertainment, teased that the visuals are "scheduled for a later date". Nevertheless, the Renaissance World Tour is over, a concert film is here and there are still no visuals.

READ MORE: Beyoncé Renaissance Tour setlist: Every song Beyoncé plays on the Renaissance World Tour

And for anyone wondering if Renaissance: A Film includes the Renaissance visuals or references them in any significant capacity, there is no mention of the visuals in the film outside of Beyoncé telling a a fan: "You are the visuals, baby!"

Nevertheless, new reports have now emerged which claim that a totally separate Renaissance movie is complete and Beyoncé's official website recently went down (Dec 18) for over five hours. With that in mind, here's a breakdown of everything we know so far about the mysterious Renaissance visuals and when we can expect them.

When is Beyoncé releasing the Renaissance visuals?

On August 31st, Above the Line set social media ablaze when they published a piece in which they say that Beyoncé is now "shopping a new Renaissance visual album to studios and streamers." They claim that the film was directed by Nadia Lee Cohen (Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator, Kali Uchis) and is "artsy" and "weirder" than Beyoncé's past visual albums.

A source also said: "It’s a visual album movie, but it’s like an art film, and I’ve also heard it’s better than Black Is King."

They then claim that "select studios and streamers" got a first look at the film between "four and six months ago" but didn't pick it up. As for why the film hasn't sold yet, a source said: "I’m guessing the price and lack of replay value for the casual viewer, maybe Beyoncé didn’t like how it turned out? I don’t know..."

Beyoncé is yet to address the claims but Nadia Lee Cohen recently shared a polaroid from Beyoncé on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by nadia lee cohen (@nadialeecohen)

As for Beyoncé's website going down for five hours on December 18th, it now seems unlikely that it was visuals related. The website came back online and the official Parkwood account somply tweeted: "Fixed it". Then on December 19th, Beyoncé released a video announcing that Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé will be playing in cinemas in more countries.

While Beyoncé is yet to say anything more about the Renaissance visuals, there have been several clues and hints since the album came out that music videos, or even a film inspired by Renaissance, is in the works. Here is a full timeline of what's been teased ahead of Above the Line's viral news report.

1) Beyoncé releases 'I'm That Girl' teaser.

Hope was high and life was worth living on August 12th, 2022. Out of nowhere, Beyoncé surprised us with a one minute and 50 second video set to 'I'm That Girl' with the title 'Official Teaser'. In the video, Beyoncé cracks some eggs, sports some incredible high-fashion looks and makes her way around an abandoned bar. There's also an actual horse in it.

It's the moment at 00:38 that truly excited fans though. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it, two second supercut, Beyoncé can be seen wearing a total of 21 different looks in 21 different settings. In other words, the video appears to confirm that many music videos are coming, potentially a full Renaissance visual album. We were all so happy that day.

It's also worth noting that the style of the teaser is in line with Nadia Lee Cohen's aesthetic.

Beyoncé - I’M THAT GIRL (Official Teaser)

2) Shea Coulée says the visuals are on their way.

It's unclear whether or not RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 5 winner Shea Coulée is involved in the Renaissance visuals at all but she does appear to know about them. After noticing the demand and confusion over the visuals in October 2022, Shea took to Twitter to set the record straight.

While she didn't mention Beyoncé by name, Shea tweeted: "I’m not gonna say how I know this, but the visuals are coming. So stop asking that lady for them. She’s working overtime, and she’s about to deliver." Moments later, Shea deleted the tweet.

Shea potentially being in the Renaissance visuals? Pretty legendary if you ask me.

3) Syd appears to confirm a Renaissance film is coming.

As well as being an incredible artist in her own right, Syd co-wrote 'Plastic Off the Sofa' on Renaissance. In November, Syd shared a photo of some flowers from Beyoncé to her Instagram story. Eagle-eyed fans spotted that they contained a note from Beyoncé herself.

In the note, Beyoncé said: "Thank you for contributing so much to the film. I’m looking at the footage and you’re incredible. I’m forever grateful - B". Fans took this as confirmation that a Renaissance film similar to Lemonade and Black Is King is coming.

Shortly after it went viral, Syd deleted the story.

4) Beyoncé references the 'I'm That Girl' teaser.

Despite announcing a world tour and breaking records at the Grammys this year, Beyoncé had remained quiet about visuals. Well, until March 25th that is. On March 25th, Beyoncé unveiled her first Vogue France collection alongside a new Balmain and Beyoncé Renaissance couture collection. Amazing, but the caption and what it could mean stood out to fans.

Alongside the cover, Beyoncé wrote: "Touching everything in my plain view, and everything next to me gets lit up, too." Of course, this is a lyric from 'I'm That Girl' but it's also the last lyric in the 'I'm That Girl' teaser before the screen fades to black. And the next lyric is: "You see it." Coincidence? I think not. (It could be a coincidence but let us dream).

Could the couture looks feature in the visuals?

5) Question...what is Spatial Labs?

Back in July 2022, Vogue teased that Beyoncé could be entering the world of virtual reality. They said that she is reported to "be working with the JAY-Z-backed studio Spatial Labs, which builds technology for the metaverse, and The Wave, which creates live interactive and immersive musical experiences."

In a now-deleted tweet, Iddris Sandu, who founded Spatial Labs tweeted a link to Beyoncé's website with the placeholder artwork for Renaissance and a tool emoji. Cut to March 2023 and Idris has announced the launch of Spatial Labs Music.

What Spatial Labs is still remains to be seen but fans think that the visuals could launch in collaboration with Spatial Labs Music and involve virtual reality.

7) Beyoncé addresses the visuals on The Renaissance World Tour.

It's official. The visuals exist! Before Beyoncé's performance of 'Formation' on The Renaissance World Tour, there is a viral interlude in which Big Freedia teases that visuals have been made and Beyoncé will release them in her own time. As it stands, there's still no hint as to when that release date may be.

Big Freedia hilariously taunts: "You've asked for the visuals. You've called for the queen...but a queen moves at her own pace bitch. She decides when she wants to give you a fucking taste, so get your fork and your spoons if you got one."

Beyoncé has kept the interlude in every single show of The Renaissance World Tour.

With Beyoncé now teasing the visuals on the Renaissance World Tour and reports that she is shopping a film to studios, it looks as though they may finally be within reach. December 13th, 2023 marks 10 years since Beyoncé stopped the world with her visual album BEYONCÉ so it's possible that an announcement could come then.

We will keep you posted with any and all updates. In the meantime, we'll be heading to the cinema to watch Beyoncé's Renaissance concert film.

Where will Beyoncé release the Renaissance visuals?

Where the visuals will be released is yet to be seen. Beyoncé released her live concert film Homecoming on Netflix and her Black Is King visual album on Disney+. In 2019, Beyoncé reportedly signed a $60 million three-project deal with Netflix. Could the Renaissance visuals be her next Netflix project?

To throw a spanner in the works, Beyoncé also hosted two Club Renaissance nights in LA with Amazon Music back in December, so there's even a chance that the visuals will drop on Prime. Not to mention, Beyoncé will likely release a selection of the videos on YouTube too.

When and where do you think the visuals are coming?

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