Dakota Johnson to Direct ‘A Tree is Blue’ Starring Charli XCX, Jessica Alba and Vanessa Burghardt

For months now, Dakota Johnson has been dropping hints that she’s ready to step behind the camera. Turns out, she wasn’t bluffing.

The actress is set to make her directorial debut with “A Tree Is Blue,” a coming-of-age drama that’s going to film in Los Angeles next month, according to a casting call.

Johnson is assembling a cast that includes Charli XCX, Jessica Alba, and Vanessa Burghardt — and producing it under her TeaTime banner. The film is written by Burghardt, who starred as Johnson’s daughter in “Cha Cha Real Smooth.”

There she is again, Charli XCX, a Grammy award-winning singer, who has decided to shift her focus to acting, shooting seven films in the last two years: “The Moment,” “100 Nights of Hero,” “Erupcja,” “Faces of Death,” “I Want Your Sex,” “Sacrifice,” and “The Gallerist.” None of these have been released in theaters yet

Johnson takes the reins to tell the story of a young woman on the autism spectrum who breaks free from her overprotective, but loving mother in search of freedom, friendship, and a little chaos in the summer after high school graduation.

The project has been described by Johnson as “very close to her heart.” That’s not just press-release fluff. Johnson has been outspoken lately about wanting to create space for more authentic stories in Hollywood — particularly ones told with the people whose experiences are being portrayed.

So yes, Dakota Johnson is dead serious about being an auteur — she’s been warning us for months, and judging by how this project is being fast tracked, she’s ready to make It. Having Burghardt, who is autistic, pen the script signals serious intention. I’m just wondering if Johnson has the stuff to be a good filmmaker. We’ll see.