Ari Aster, budding new film director, has made an impression in the world of horror and suspense films in the past few years. The shock and horror behind his first two films, Hereditary and Midsommar, have made Aster a director to watch, but now he's taking on a new role for his next A24 feature.
Deadline reports Aster and Lars Knudsen will produce a new horror film for A24 under their Square Peg banner. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson will be writing the screenplay for the film, which he pitched and sold to A24.
A release date has not been released yet for the untitled film, which is said to be in the early stages of development. As a producer, the horror film will be Ari's first feature that he will not write and direct himself. However, Ari's next directorial effort, Disappointment Blvd., which is also an A24 project, is expected to debut in 2022. Disappointment Blvd. is described as a "decades-spanning" look at one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. Starring in the film is the incredible Joaquin Phoenix (Joker). The genre is not listed, but from the premise, it can be assumed that this film will stray further from the horror genre Aster is known for.
Where or not this "entrepreneur" is based on a real-life person or not is unclear, although the film will be timely with titans such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk at the forefront of the news. Disappointment Blvd. comes a little out of the left-field with what we have seen from Aster's career so far. Aster is clearly still developing his style, with it being so early in his film career, but he is known for his extreme twists and shocking moments that may easily translate out of a horror setting. With A24 making this film too, stylistically the cinematography and image should remain consistent with Hereditary and the Florence Pug-led Midsommar.
Aster's horror film Hereditary premiered in 2018 and starred Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, and Gabriel Byrne. The film is centered around a family that discovers something sinister is secretly ruling their life. The film came with a major jaw-dropping ending and changed perspectives on actors like Alex Wolff, who is known for his roles on Nickelodeon shows like Big Time Rush. Midsommar came out the following year in 2019, featuring Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, and Will Poulter. Following a Swedish pagan cult, the film reintroduced the concept that horror is all about what is in the dark.
Source: Deadline