A24 Drops First Look at ‘Eddington’: Go Behind the Scenes of Ari Aster’s Twisted Western

Ari Aster is back with something completely new, and his upcoming film Eddington is already turning heads. This dark neo-Western comedy is set in a fictional New Mexico town during the COVID-19 pandemic and stars a packed cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, and more. The movie had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025, and is set to hit U.S. theaters on July 18 through A24.

In Eddington, Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe Cross, the town’s sheriff, while Pedro Pascal takes on the role of Mayor Ted Garcia, who’s trying to get re-elected. Emma Stone plays Joe’s wife Louise, and Austin Butler is Vernon Jefferson Peak, a mysterious character with unclear intentions.

The story begins in May 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, when a standoff between Sheriff Cross and Mayor Garcia sets off chaos in the town. As tensions rise, neighbors begin to turn on each other and the whole town of Eddington starts to unravel.

The idea for the movie had been sitting with Aster for a while. He originally thought Eddington might be his first film, but instead made Hereditary and Midsommar first. He later updated the script to take place during the pandemic.

He scouted filming locations in New Mexico with Joaquin Phoenix back in 2023 and officially began filming in March 2024. It wrapped a few months later in May. The movie was shot in places like Albuquerque and Truth or Consequences.

The movie was produced by Aster’s company Square Peg and A24. Music for the film was created by Bobby Krlic, who worked with Aster on Midsommar, and Daniel Pemberton also joined to co-compose the score. According to A24 and interviews with Aster during promotion, the film is as much about the political tension in a small town as it is about the personal breakdowns between its characters.

Critics who saw Eddington at Cannes were somewhat divided. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the film at 67% positive from 51 reviews. Metacritic gave it a score of 64 out of 100, which means reviews were mostly favorable, but it wasn’t a universal hit.

The movie also screened at the Sydney Film Festival on June 12 and is set to open the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 17, just one day before it arrives in theaters in the U.S.

According to the film’s official synopsis and reported by multiple sources including A24 and the Cannes Film Festival program, Eddington dives into how a public health crisis can stir up power struggles, paranoia, and even violence in a tight-knit community.

It’s another strange and bold move from Ari Aster, and judging by its tone and cast, it might be one of the most talked-about films of 2025.

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