Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ Drops New Trailer for His Wild Neo-Western Set During the Pandemic

Ari Aster is stepping into new territory with his latest movie Eddington, and people are already talking about it. Known for making unsettling horror films like Hereditary and Midsommar, Aster has now made something different—a dark comedy with a Western vibe set in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eddington takes place in a small fictional town in New Mexico during May 2020, right when the pandemic was in full swing. The story centers around Sheriff Joe Cross, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and Mayor Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal.

These two men don’t get along, and when their conflict reaches a boiling point, it throws the whole town into chaos. Emma Stone plays Joe’s wife Louise, and Austin Butler shows up as a mysterious outsider named Vernon Jefferson Peak. It’s not really clear what Vernon wants, and that adds more tension to the mix.

The movie first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025. Reactions were mixed. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 67% score based on 51 reviews, and Metacritic listed it with a 64 out of 100. That means most critics liked it, but not everyone was blown away.

Now A24 has released a second trailer for the movie:

Aster originally thought about making Eddington years ago. In fact, he once planned for it to be his first film. But then he made Hereditary and Midsommar instead. Later, during the pandemic, he rewrote the script to fit the moment. According to A24 and interviews he gave during the movie’s promotion, Aster wanted to explore what happens when a crisis causes people to turn on each other. “It’s about politics, fear, and the way people crack under pressure,” Aster said in a Cannes interview.

Filming started in March 2024 and finished in May of the same year. Aster and Phoenix had actually gone scouting for locations in New Mexico back in 2023. The film was shot in towns like Albuquerque and Truth or Consequences. A24 and Aster’s own company, Square Peg, produced the movie.

The music in Eddington was handled by two composers—Bobby Krlic, who also worked on Midsommar, and Daniel Pemberton. The score mixes eerie and emotional sounds to match the strange tone of the film.

Eddington was also shown at the Sydney Film Festival on June 12 and will open the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 17. It hits theaters in the United States the next day, July 18, through A24.

According to the official description from A24 and the Cannes program, the movie is all about how a health emergency can lead to power struggles and violence in a small community. Aster doesn’t hold back from showing how people’s fear and personal problems get worse when the pressure is on.

With its big cast and intense mood, Eddington could end up being one of the most talked-about movies of 2025. Whether people love it or not, it’s clear Ari Aster is still finding new ways to surprise us.