Ari Aster's latest movie, Eddington, pivots from the horror genre to a pandemic-era Western film. A24 shared the first trailer in April, offering moviegoers their first look at the star-studded feature, including Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, and more.
The minute-long trailer primarily shows a close-up of Eddington's sheriff (Phoenix) scrolling his Instagram feed, which is cleverly used to briefly introduce viewers to the film's various characters through short snippets of their social media shares.
Austin Butler is playing an outspoken preacher (or cult leader?), telling his people to "take back [their] mind" and "reclaim [their] identity." Emma Stone looks like an influencer, and Pedro Pascal is Mayor Ted Garcia, preparing to lead his town through unprecedented times. Finally, he completes his nightly doomscrolling on a viral clip of himself punching out a protestor.
The trailer also has a little tidbit at the beginning that hints at what kind of tone the movie will take, poking fun at the many COVID conspiracies that ran amok back then and have never entirely gone away. A newscaster is heard implying a connection between the year the first Wuhan lab was created (1956) and Tom Hanks, the first infected celebrity who also happened to be born that same year.
Beyond the trailer, not many other details have been shared about this movie apart from the A24 description that reads: "A standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico."
Aster is best known for his acclaimed horror films Hereditary and Midsommar, and his surreal tragicomedy movie Beau is Afraid, which also stars Phoenix. Eddington marks the director's fourth feature film, all of which have been distributed by A24. It will open this year's Cannes Festival. The festival starts on May 13.
Phoenix's last credit includes last year's Joker: Folie à Deux, while Pascal is currently starring in The Last of Us season 2, now airing on HBO.
Eddington will begin playing in theaters on July 18.