Ari Aster’s Next Movie Just Became Way More Exciting (Despite His $35 Million Box Office Bomb)

While Ari Aster’s last movie, Beau Is Afraid, bombed at the box office, that has not stopped the visionary director from assembling one of the year’s most exciting casts for his next project. Ari Aster has had mixed fortunes when it comes to critics and audiences. His 2011 short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons became a viral success, but the psychological horror proved highly divisive. Aster’s feature film debut, Hereditary, was a massive box office hit and a huge critical success, while its follow-up, Midsommar, was always as financially successful and just as acclaimed. Both are among Ari Aster’s best movies.

2023’s Beau Is Afraid, however, saw Aster’s box office dominance come to a sudden end. A trippy blend of horror, comedy, fantasy, and satire, Beau Is Afraid mostly impressed critics thanks to Aster’s singular vision. Unfortunately, the three-hour epic made only $11 million in theaters (via BoxOfficeMojo), despite Beau Is Afraid‘s estimated $35 million budget, resulting in the first real commercial failure of Aster’s career. An update regarding the director’s next project proves that Beau Is Afraid‘s financial struggles have not dimmed his ambition, judging by the movie’s starry cast list.

Eddington Reunites Joaquin Phoenix & Ari Aster After Beau Is Afraid Flopped

Beau Is Afraid’s box office failure didn’t stop Aster and Phoenix from reuniting

Despite their last collaboration struggling at the box office, Joaquin Phoenix will play another Ari Aster protagonist in the upcoming Eddington. Not a lot is known about the movie, although Phoenix is far from the only big name in the project’s cast. Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Pedro Pascal, and Yellowstone‘s Luke Grimes all play undisclosed roles. Aster’s forthcoming Eddington is cryptically described as a story about a “Small-town New Mexico sheriff with higher aspirations.” Judging by Aster’s earlier efforts, this contemporary Western will likely involve elements of horror and dark comedy in its twisty, unpredictable plot.

While it lost a lot of money, Beau Is Afraid was unique, inventive, and undeniably original. Eddington will be the director’s first foray into Westerns, but the cast of Aster’s new movie proves he is as ambitious as ever, despite his recent flop. Eddington will also be produced by A24, the production company that has backed all of Aster’s earlier projects. Since Beau Is Afraid’s reviews were surprisingly solid given its unwieldy runtime and surreal sensibility, the continued combination of Ari Aster’s trademark strangeness and Joaquin Phoenix’s mesmeric acting means that Eddington remains an exciting proposition.

Ari Aster’s New Movie Has His Most Famous Cast Yet

Eddington’s cast includes Emma Stone, Austin Butler, and Pedro Pascal

Eddington‘s lineup is arguably the biggest cast that Aster has worked with so far, as Beau Is Afraid included few A-listers aside from Phoenix. This was no bad thing, since the movie gave underrated supporting stars like Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, and Parker Posey a chance to shine. Hereditary, meanwhile, boasted an astounding central turn from Toni Collette, but Gabriel Byrne was its only other major star. Similarly, Midsommar mostly relied on Florence Pugh’s career-best performance, with Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, and William Jackson Harper providing support. In contrast, Ari Aster‘s Beau Is Afraid follow-up is full of major A-list stars.

Sources: BoxOfficeMojo