A24 has released the first teaser for Eddington, Ari Aster’s ambitious new film that dares to tackle one of the most divisive subject matters possible: America during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The brief but unsettling teaser primarily consists of a tight shot showing Joaquin Phoenix’s character – a small-town New Mexico sheriff – scrolling through an Instagram feed dated June 2, 2020.
Through this simple framing device, we’re introduced to the residents of fictional Eddington, New Mexico, and the brewing tensions that will apparently erupt into what the film’s synopsis describes as a “standoff” between Phoenix’s sheriff and Pedro Pascal‘s Mayor Ted Garcia.
The trailer reveals glimpses of a prestigious ensemble cast caught in this pandemic pressure cooker. Emma Stone appears in a direct-to-camera video “denying her husband’s announcement,” while Austin Butler takes on what appears to be a cult leader role, ominously preaching that “pain is not a coincidence.”
Meanwhile, Pascal’s mayor delivers an impassioned speech about fighting the pandemic, setting up what seems to be the central conflict of the film.
True to Ari Aster’s distinctive sensibilities, dark humor can be spotted all over the teaser. A TikTok-style video shows a young woman dancing with the overlay text “When you just finish reading James Baldwin’s ‘Giovanni’s Room'” and the caption “1 like = 1 ACAB.”
A conspiracy theorist account called “bengazhi_dad” posts bizarre theories connecting Michael Jackson to 9/11. Another voice narrates a COVID conspiracy involving Tom Hanks: “Of course, they keep looking at that lab in China. If you look at that lab in Wuhan… that was established in 1956, of course, that was the year Tom Hanks was born, the first celebrity with the virus.”
The film’s tagline, “Hindsight is 2020,” hints at Aster’s possible intention to examine our collective trauma through a retrospective lens. Aster, who grew up in Santa Fe, returns to his New Mexican roots for this project, which has been described as a “western thriller and black comedy.”
Reports imply the screenplay includes bloody violence as the town’s tensions boil over into chaos (after all, it would not be an Ari Aster project without some gore—just watch Hereditary, if you dare!).
Eddington‘s approach to such recent trauma is already raising questions about taste and timing. With over a million Americans lost to COVID-19 and the pandemic still ongoing (if less prominently featured in headlines), Aster appears to be walking a thin line between social commentary and exploitation.
The cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., and Amélie Hoeferle.
Eddington will premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May before hitting theaters on July 18.
