John Woo's New Action Movie Silent Night Adds Kid Cudi

Grammy-winner Kid Cudi is continuing his on-screen hot streak following "X" and "Don't Look Up." According to a press release, the musician and actor will next be seen in John Woo's latest movie, "Silent Night."

"Silent Night" is an upcoming action thriller from the filmmaker behind classics like "Face/Off" and "Hard Boiled." The movie seems to be taking a classic revenge film route, following a father avenging the death of his son after he's caught in gang crossfire on Christmas Eve. Joel Kinnaman will play the father in question, while Kid Cudi, also credited as Scott Mescudi, will play Detective Dennis Vassel.

Mescudi initially appeared on the music scene as a groundbreaking hip-hop artist, reinventing the genre with his double-platinum concept album "Man on the Moon: The End of the Day" in 2009. The artist has been acting for nearly as long, but has had an especially good run on screen in recent years. In 2020, he played a tense, devout military man in Luca Guadagnino's series "We Are Who We Are." Recently, he stole scenes as the on-and-off boyfriend of Ariana Grande's pop star character in "Don't Look Up," and as ultra-cool porn star and former marine Jackson Hole in Ti West's slasher "X."

Woo's upcoming movie will test Mescudi and his co-stars' abilities even further, as earlier reports indicate it will feature zero dialogue. If the by-the-book initial synopsis for "Silent Night" doesn't sound exciting enough to inspire Woo's first feature since 2017, this detail suddenly clears things up. It's exactly the type of ambitious, expectation-subverting filmmaking Woo is known for. It's also a clever way to transcend the limitations of the "international film" label that keeps incurious viewers from checking out world cinema, as a movie with no words translates easily to any language.

Executive producer Joe Gatta shared his enthusiasm for Mescudi's casting, saying:

"Based on what we've seen from set so far, it's clear that Scott has a presence and gravitas that is incredibly captivating. He is a powerful addition, and perfect complement, to this stellar cast."

Thunder Road Films, which brought us another innovative revenge flick with "John Wick," is set to produce "Silent Night." Capstone Studios and A Better Tomorrow are also producing. The film will be based on a screenplay by Robert Archer Lynn ("Prisoner"), and production has apparently already begun. As of publication time, "Silent Night" has no set release date in place.