From compelling human drama to nightmare-inducing scares, A24 has set the bar for movie-making over the last decade, and is looking to continue its prestige with its upcoming movie, Eddington. The acclaimed film production and distribution company is responsible for launching the careers of many up-and-coming filmmakers, including horror director Ari Aster. Aster’s first two movies for A24 were Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019), both straight horror. But his third feature, Beau Is Afraid (2023), saw the director branch out, and play around with surrealism and dark comedy.

While many details have been kept under wraps, Eddington will be a Western black comedy and Aster’s first completely non-horror movie. This genre isn’t only new territory for Aster, but also somewhat for A24 as well, as the company has produced very few Westerns, with its last being First Cow in 2020, and even that was more of a drama. But along with its talented director, Eddington also boasts an all-star cast full of awards-winning talent, and is already shaping up to be a must-see.

Eddington Latest News

Austin Butler Shares His Experience

The rising star of Elvis and Dune: Part Two, Austin Butler is a confirmed member of Eddington‘s ensemble cast. Butler shared his thoughts about working on Eddison in June 2024, saying:

“I don’t want to give much away as far as the story and character go, but it was a wild adventure that I got to go on. I got to play a character who’s very different from anything that I’ve done.”

Considering that Butler has taken on several unique roles during his career, this bit of news only adds to excitement for the film and Butler’s performance. The actor also stated that he “loved” working with Ari Aster and the rest of the team, including co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone and director of photography Darius Khondji.

Eddington Is Confirmed

A24 Confirmed The Movie On Its Instagram Page In March 2024

Eddington has been confirmed by sites such as Indiewire, Vulture, and World of Reel. In March 2024, Vulture called the movie a contemporary western, and said that the plot was about “a small-town New Mexico sheriff with higher aspirations.”

Also in March, A24 posted a photo on its Instagram showing a film slate with the Eddington title amidst a desert landscape. The post reads “Welcome to EDDINGTON,” along with a list of confirmed cast members and the words “coming soon.”

The project started filming in New Mexico back in March. The website for Sierra County posted the news about the movie shooting in the city of Truth or Consequences, which included photos of set locales. Filming wrapped in May 2024 (via Production List).

Eddington Cast

Emma Stone Was One Of The First Actors Announced

The first cast announcement for Eddington came in 2023, with Emma Stone and Christopher Abbott attached to star in what was a then-untitled Ari Aster movie (via The Film Stage). It appears that Abbott left the project, but in March 2024, a much larger cast list was announced, and it includes Stone, Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., William Bellau, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka, and Amélie Hoeferle (via Deadline).

There is little information about the characters played by this starry cast, but World of Reel reports Phoenix will play Sheriff Joe Cross opposite Pascal’s Mayor Ted Garcia, and that the two share a rivalry. There are also hints of the plot centering around a couple stranded within the town, but no official confirmation of who is playing those roles. If this rumor is true, Stone and Butler are the most likely candidates.

Eddington Story Details

Reports Say The Movie Centers Around A New Mexico Sheriff

The plot and story details for Eddington have been slowly getting filled in more and more. Initially, director Ari Aster hinted that the movie was a “Western-noir dark ensemble comedy” during an AMA on Reddit. Since then, World of Reel initially rumored that the movie centers around a couple who runs out of gas and are greeted warmly by the town’s citizens, only for things to turn sinister “as nightfall comes.”

However, in June 2024, the site reported more details, saying that the movie takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the main character is “a small-town New Mexico sheriff with higher aspirations”. Specifically, World of Reel reported that the sheriff wants to run for mayor against the incumbent for heavily politicized reasons.

Eddington Reunites Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix

They Collaborated In Beau Is Afraid

What makes Eddington so intriguing is not only the secrecy surrounding the movie but also that it pairs Ari Aster once again with Joaquin Phoenix. Aster wrote and directed the dark horror comedy, with Phoenix leading the Beau Is Afraid cast as the troubled and lonely Beau Wasserman. The movie was a box office bomb and received a mixed reaction from critics, who dinged the Beau Is Afraid‘s three-hour runtime but praised Phoenix’s performance.

At just over $12 million,
Beau Is Afraid
is by far Ari Aster’s weakest showing at the worldwide box office. In comparison,
Hereditary
made over $87 million and
Midsommar
$48 (all figures from

Box Office Mojo

).

In 2023, Phoenix told USA Today how much he enjoyed working with Aster on Beau Is Afraid, saying “I just thought, ‘I like talking to Ari and I want to keep talking to him. I could spend a few months with this guy.’ I could tell that he cared deeply about work but he was also funny.” This praise would signal another great collaboration between Aster and Phoenix with Eddington, and given the movie’s plot and genre, it appear it will be more of a crowdpleaser than Beau Is Afraid.