First Trailer for James McAvoy’s Wild Hip-Hop Comedy CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN'

Studiocanal UK has dropped the first teaser trailer for James McAvoy’s directorial debut, California Schemin’, and it looks like the Scottish star is kicking off his filmmaking career with something vibrant, funny, and heartfelt.

The film follows two Scottish friends who want nothing more than to break into the hip hop world. The problem is simple. In the early 2000s nobody in the UK rap scene wanted to take two white Scottish guys with thick accents seriously.

So they decided to change the odds in the most chaotic way possible. They reinvented themselves as a West Coast duo called “Silibil N’ Brains” and committed to the bit with fake backstories and American accents.

Starring Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross, along with Lucy Halliday, Rebekah Murrell, and McAvoy himself, the film leans into the stranger than fiction nature of the true story behind this wild scheme.

As the façade grows and fame starts to feel within reach, the friends find themselves tested in ways they never expected.

Here’s the synopsis: "Inspired by the real-life saga of Scottish rap duo Silibil N' Brains, a.k.a. Gavin Bain (Séamus McLean Ross) and Billy Boyd (Samuel Bottomley), the film follows the unexpected journey of two lifelong friends from Dundee who dream of hip-hop superstardom.

“There’s just one problem: nobody takes two white guys with thick regional accents seriously in the UK’s early 2000s rap scene, especially not the London gatekeepers who laugh them out of an audition.

“Back home and humiliated, the pair hatch a plan so absurd it just might work: they’ll reinvent themselves as hard-partying MCs from Southern California complete with fake backstories & convincing-enough American accents.

“Against all odds — and with sharp commentary on image, identity, the music industry's obsession with authenticity — they take off, conning even one of the industry’s top producers (McAvoy). But keeping up the lie without losing sight of what’s real becomes harder as stakes rise, and as cracks beneath the bravado & between friends begin to widen."

California Schemin’ marks a major move for McAvoy. He’s produced before, including the film Filth, but this is the first time he’s steering the entire ship. The screenplay comes from Archie Thomson and Elaine Gracie and draws directly from the real experiences of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd.

Between the trailer’s energy and the festival reactions, this looks like a fun underdog story with plenty of personality and a surprising emotional core. It’s also a fresh angle on the music industry comedy and a reminder of how far people will go when chasing a dream.

Studiocanal will release California Schemin’ in UK and Irish cinemas on April 10, 2026. There’s no confirmed US release yet.