Zayn Malik at hard at work on new music outside of his next album. The original songs will appear in upcoming animated feature film 10 Lives, which stars the former One Direction singer as tough-guy twins Cameron and Kirk. According to Variety, Malik is an executive producer on the movie and is overseeing its musical direction.
The songs will include a duet with Bridgerton actress Simone Ashely, who voices a character named Rose. The film also features the voices of Bill Nighy, Mo Gilligan, Sophie Okonedo, Dylan Llewellyn, and Jeremy Swift.
“I always enjoy my time in the studio creating from my perspective,” Malik said in a statement. “While creating music for 10 Lives, I was able to immerse myself in a narrative that I hadn’t dictated and able to bring the characters’ emotions into the music rather than my own. I really enjoyed writing specifically to bring them all to life. It’s a film that’s not only fun to watch but has a very beautiful sentiment for people of all ages. I hope people love it, and the music we created really connects and transports them deeper into the 10 Lives world.”
Casting directors and music supervisors Robyn Klein and Jeremy Ross added, “We always love bringing the worlds of film and music together and could not be more excited that we got to do this with Zayn on 10 Lives. A great film and a great song come from the same place. Combining his songwriting, acting and vocal skills, Zayn brought joy, emotion, and depth to the film while connecting and highlighting all of its important themes. This is Zayn at his absolute best.”
Directed by Chris Jenkins, the film centers on a pampered and selfish cat who takes his many lives for granted. After losing his final ninth life, he asks for a second chance to learn from his mistakes. It has yet to get a release date.
Earlier this year, Malik clarified why One Direction called it quits during an interview with Call Her Daddy‘s Alex Cooper. In the interview, Malik addressed leaving the band and the moment he knew it was time to go.
“Look, I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there was a lot of politics going on, certain people were doing certain things, certain people didn’t want to sign contracts, so I knew something was happening,” he said. “There was obviously underlying issues, like within our friendships, too. We’ve been together every day for five years, and we got sick of each other, if I’m being completely honest. So we were close.”
In July, the singer shared a new single, “Love Like This,” along with a motorcycle-themed music video. Malik has teased that there is more music to come.
“I’m doing a record I don’t think people are really gonna expect. It’s a different sound for me,” he said on Call Her Daddy. “And it’s got some more narrative going on, like real-life experiences and stuff. My daughter’s mentioned in there a couple of times.”