Sean Penn Hangs Out with Hunter Biden in Malibu Amid New Documentary

Hunter Biden reportedly has a new documentary in the works all about his life -- and now, it looks like Sean Penn has entered the chat ... who's a bit of a doc head himself these days.

The President's embattled son -- who's in the middle of a criminal case right now, and who'll be going to trial soon on gun-related charges -- was photographed out in Malibu Thursday, cozying up next to none other than the Oscar winner ... and they were chopping it up.

The pics were taken outside of Soho House, a social club there, and it looks like SP was enjoying a smoke while HB was trying to go somewhat incognito with shades and a hat.

As for why they were even hanging out in the first place ... it's anyone's guess, but at face value -- it would appear they're friendly. The reason this pairing is also interesting lies in the fact that Hunter has been working on a documentary about himself for a good while now.

Reports dating back to January suggest has been quietly filming his life with some financial backing from a lawyer/film producer ... and it's all about clearing the air on his public image.

Of course, there's been a lot of reporting on Hunter over the past few years or so -- much of which has touched on his business affairs while Joe Biden was the VP, not to mention his own personal life and activities -- and conservatives have invoked his name A LOT.

In light of news that Hunter's filming himself in an effort to set the record straight about himself -- him linking up with Sean could certainly mean they're teaming up/collaborating.

As you may or may not know ... Sean's in the doc game lately -- in fact, he made one about Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian war last year, and it was called "Superpower."

He's got another project in the works that's all about murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi -- so, the fact he's dabbling in political docs could certainly mean he's working on Hunter's.