The trailer and release date for Eddington have arrived. The upcoming movie from director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) is set in the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico in May 2020, following a confrontation between local sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). The star-studded ensemble cast of the movie also includes Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., and Yellowstone star Luke Grimes.

A24 has now unveiled the official trailer for Eddington, which they have also revealed is set to debut on July 18. The minute-long video is presented as a sort of social media scroll. While a voice rattles off conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and other topics, an unseen person scrolls through various videos, including Sheriff Cross in a cowboy hat seemingly speaking in a hearing about how “the people of Eddington like guns,” and Austin Butler’s long-haired character Vernon Jefferson giving an inspirational speech about how “your pain is not a coincidence.”

Other videos include Emma Stone denouncing a recent announcement made by her husband (her account name is “louise.cross,” so she likely plays Phoenix’s wife), Mayor Ted Garcia talking about “fighting the pandemic” and racial injustice, and a CNN video featuring Sheriff Cross with the chiron “‘Law and Order’ Sheriff ᴀssaults Protestor in Town Rocked By Murder.” The end of the trailer reveals that this feed is being scrolled through by a forlorn Cross while he lies in bed. Watch the trailer below:

What This Means For Eddington

The Trailer Offers Insight Into Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid Follow-Up

The Eddington trailer offers the first real glimpse into the upcoming Ari Aster movie, indicating the latest direction in which he is taking his career. While both Hereditary and Midsommar were intense, female-led horror movies about grief, his follow-up Beau is Afraid took an entirely different path, putting its тιтle character (also played by Phoenix) on a surreal odyssey while attempting to manage his severe anxiety. While Phoenix’s Sheriff Cross is an entirely different type of character, it does seem that Aster’s latest collaboration with the star will take on more of a Beau tone than his breakout horror movies.

However, instead of focusing more or less entirely on the internal world of Phoenix’s character like Beau is Afraid, it seems that Eddington will turn its sights outward toward society at large. While its tone still seems to be slightly surreal, it is nevertheless simultaneously Aster’s most realistic onscreen world, tackling real-life 2020s issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests with biting satire that includes the social media feed showing an influencer doing a dance celebrating having read the James Baldwin novel Giovanni’s Room.

Our Take On The Eddington Trailer

Ari Aster’s Latest Could Be Alienating

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if Eddington successfully connects with audiences. By combining Aster’s idiosyncratic style with what appears to be lacerating satire of the social and political situation in 2020, it may be taking on a tone that could be alienating to general audiences. The Beau is Afraid box office, which grossed just $12.3 million against a $35 million budget, shows that audiences don’t necessarily want to follow Aster down every narrative path he attempts to draw them down, so it will be intriguing to see if this new blend of subjects and genres sticks the landing.

Source: A24