Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has yet another film project lined up, and this one may be the most intriguing of the lot. ARTNews reports that the multi-hyphenate will write, direct, and star in “JEAN,” a new biopic about legendary NYC artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Another biopic after 1996’s “Basquiat“? Well, it’s been thirty years, but then Mescudi better have something up his sleeve to differentiate his new film from Julian Schnabel‘s, and the other two Basquiat-related films in prep right now.
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Mescudi announced “JEAN” on Instagram with a post sharing an image of the first page of the film’s script draft, dated August 25, 2026, along with a mock-up poster for the project, and black-and-white photographs of Mescudi dressed as Basquiat. “This isnt the final just a rough,” Cudi said about his look as Basquiat; “trust me we gon get it perfect.” The post also shared that the movie will start shooting in 2027. That’ll make three films in two years for Mescudi, who’s already in post-production for “Doe,” his feature directorial debut, and his follow-up, the horror movie “Wrong Number.” Mescudi writes, directs, stars, and executive produces those projects as well.
To be honest, Mescudi’s makeshift transformation into Basquiat looks halfway decent, but his film will need to compete with two other Basquiat movies in the works right now. The first, “Samo Lives,” with Kelvin Harrison Jr. playing the artist, started filming in NYC last Fall, but there haven’t been any updates on the project recently. The other, a feature adaptation of Anthony McCarten‘s play “The Collaboration,” about the relationship between Basquiat and Andy Warhol, is in development but also has no official timetable. So maybe Mescudi beat those projects to the punch with “Jean” with an early shoot next year.
Mescudi has been working in the film industry almost as long as he’s been releasing albums as Kid Cudi, but he hit his stride onscreen in the 2020s. Notable credits this decade include “Bill & Ted Face The Music,” Ti West‘s “X,” “Silent Night,” and “Happy Gilmore 2.” He also has the horror movie “Pathetic Fallacy,” which just premiered at Fantastic Fest, ready to hit theaters/streaming soon.
Take a look at Mescudi’s Instagram post about “JEAN” below, and stay tuned he indeed shoots the film in 2027.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dew1f_tGoAb/?img_index=1&mdxt=OW1md2s2bjl2ZjJt
