saoirse-ronan-director

Saoirse has been on the acting scene for decades, making her TV debut in RTÉ's "The Clinic" in 2003 and her film debut in the 2007 movie "I Could Never Be Your Woman".

Since then, we've seen her in countless projects. Now, though, she's ready to step back from in front of the lens and enter a new career chapter as she makes her directorial debut.

According to Screen Ireland, Saoirse will make her directorial debut in a new Irish short film, titled "Paper Plane".

It's been listed as scheduled for release in the second half of 2026, a year already chock-full of exciting releases. The 31-year-old is listed as the primary writer of the short film, which sees Dublin-based studio Keeper Pictures on board to produce.

There's no information on the short as of yet, but with Saoirse attached to the project, we have very, very high hopes.

 It comes after Saoirse spoke to Deadline about stepping away from the limelight to ensure her work "doesn't get stale".

She told the publication: "I've been doing it (acting) now for over 20 years, and there's a fork in the road in my life, where I need to protect my relationship with my work so that it doesn't get stale.

"I think if you spoke to most child actors who are still working, a lot of them probably have the same approach toward the work," she continued.

"There's a purity to it, and there's weirdly a simplicity to it that I don't believe you should shy away from just because you are older...I do this for myself.

"I don't do it for anyone else... I'll always want to protect that relationship that I have with it," Saoirse, who recently welcomed her first child to the world, explained.

"As soon as it starts to not feel that way, then that's when I need to do something else."

The Carlow woman starred in the 2025 film "Bad Apples", and her only upcoming acting role is as Linda McCartney in the upcoming series of biopics about The Beatles, which will see her star opposite her on-screen hubby, Paul Mescal, as Sir Paul McCartney.

* Originally published on Evoke.ie.