Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal go head-to-head in Ari Aster’s covid-era western film Eddington, premiering after Cannes acclaim.
A24 has dropped the gripping first trailer for Eddington, a tense and genre-defying western from visionary filmmaker Ari Aster. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal as two men on opposing sides of a volatile standoff that unfolds in a small New Mexico town during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Eddington, Phoenix plays the town sheriff, while Pedro Pascal portrays the mayor. Their feud quickly escalates, turning the quiet community of Eddington into a battleground where neighbor turns against neighbor. Set against the backdrop of an already fractured America, the film unpacks themes of distrust, authority, and the thin line between order and chaos.
Following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Eddington made an impression with a nearly seven-minute standing ovation. Critics praised the film for its audacious storytelling and sharp commentary. Deadline‘s Damon Wise described it as a bold satire of modern-day America, calling it “a slice of history that we have yet to see properly shown on film, even though it happened only five years ago.”
The project marks a reunion between Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix, who previously worked together on Beau Is Afraid. Ari Aster both wrote and directed Eddington, with Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone rounding out the high-profile cast.
In a Cannes photocall, Pedro Pascal reflected on the weight of the film’s themes, saying Ari Aster crafted something that encapsulates “all our worst fears” in a post-Covid political landscape.
Backed by A24, the film was produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner. With its July 18 release date fast approaching, Eddington is already shaping up to be one of the summer’s most talked-about cinematic events.
