Surprise album drops are all the rage in the music industry, but Travis Scott is taking it even further with a surprise film. In preparation for Friday’s release of his album ‘Utopia’, the rapper has helmed a new film ‘Circus Maximus’ and it will hit AMC theaters starting Thursday.
Scott announced the film on Twitter Tuesday morning (via Pitchfork). In a tweet, he shared a short trailer for the upcoming film, which features footage of her performance. In a second tweet, she revealed the poster of the film, with an image of him on a motorcycle. According to the poster, Scott wrote and directed the film, with other high-profile collaborators including Gaspar Noé, Nicolas Winding Refn, Harmony Korine, Valdimar Jóhannsson and Kahlil Joseph. A24 produced the film, which was shot in five countries, including Iceland, Denmark, France, Nigeria and Italy.
IndieWire reached out to A24 for more details on the surprise drop.
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While little more information about the film has been announced, Scott also linked to a page on his official website listing Thursday showings for “Circus Maximus” at nearly 200 AMC locations across the United States. THE official description for the film on AMC’s website implies that it will serve as the musical film and premiere of “Utopia:” hydoscopic of human experience and the power of soundscapes.
In addition to announcing the film, Scott has officially set the release date of “Utopia”, his long-awaited fourth studio album, for the day after the release of “Circus Maximus”. ‘Utopia’ faced numerous delays over the span of three years: Scott officially announced his title in 2020, on the second anniversary of the release of his third album ‘Astroworld’. To promote “Utopia”, Scott released a lead single, “K-Pop”, featuring Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, on July 21st. On Friday, Scott will celebrate the launch of “Utopia” via a live stream concert in front of the Pyramids of Giza in Egyptdespite attempts by the Egyptian Musicians’ Union to revoke the permit for the performance.
“Utopia” is Scott’s first major project since the infamous 2021 Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, where a fatal crush left eight spectators dead. The tragedy prompted several lawsuits to be filed against Scott over his handling of the incident and forced the permanent cancellation of the Astroworld Festival, which the rapper founded and runs. Last month, a Texas grand jury declined to indict Scott or anyone else involved in the event on criminal charges.
Later this summer, Scott will also present another surprise film, “Aggro Dr1ft,” directed by “Circus Maximus” collaborator Harmony Korine, at the Venice Film Festival.
Watch the trailer for ‘Circus Maximus’ below.
