Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger Cast in Graffiti Thriller The Writer

Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger have been cast in The Writer, a thriller set in the underground graffiti art world, Deadline reported on 11 November 2026.

Schoenaerts plays a battle-scarred New York graffiti legend. In the story, one of his paintings is stolen from a Paris subway tunnel. The theft sets off a frenzy at the Sotheby's auction house and a fight for his crown, the top spot he holds in the scene.

The film marks the directorial debut of Matt Cirulnick, who is also its writer. He previously wrote Paid In Full, a New York crime drama about the hip-hop world. Production is slated to take place in New York in 2027.

Producing are Marina Grasic, Jonathan Avildsen and Jason Taylor. Gary Lucchesi, Christian Mercuri and Ruzanna Kegeyan are executive producers. Avildsen is the son of John G. Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director of Rocky. Deadline reports that he will create and curate the film's art and bring in real graffiti writers to contribute to the picture.

Schoenaerts and Kruger have worked together before. They co-starred in Disorder, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Un Certain Regard is a side section of the festival that showcases films outside the main competition.

Sales are also moving early. Capstone Global is launching international sales on the film at the American Film Market (AFM), the November marketplace where sales companies offer films to distributors in other countries. Those buyers decide which projects they will back, often well before a film is shot.

For anyone who has seen a piece of street art and wondered who made it, the project offers a close look at the scene. The plan to bring in working graffiti artists puts real painters at the centre of the picture's visuals, not just in the background.

The cast, crew and location are now set, and shooting is planned for next year. Until then, the next public step is the sales push at AFM.