Dakota Johnson Plans to Direct First Full-Length Film From ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ Co-Star Vanessa Burghardt | Dakota Johnson, Vanessa Burghardt | Just Jared: Celebrity News and Gossip

Dakota Johnson wants to step behind the camera.

The 35-year-old actress plans to direct her first full-length film from a script by actress Vanessa Burghardt. In 2022, Dakota and Vanessa starred in the film Cha Cha Real Smooth together.

“[Vanessa] is an autistic actress and musician and brilliant person, and we have been working with her on developing a script. She’s written a script, and it’s really special, and it’s about a young woman with autism,” Dakota said at a press conference during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, according to Deadline.

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“I feel very protective of her and her story in her mind, she’s just an unbelievable woman. I just don’t think I could allow anyone else to direct it. So we’ll see,” she added.

This week, Dakota stepped out to promote her film Splitsville at Cannes.