Ari Aster's next film is filling out fast. Ella Purnell, Caleb Landry Jones, and Samba Schutte have signed on to Scapegoat, according to Deadline, joining a cast that already includes Scarlett Johansson, Jacob Elordi, and Jude Law. The project is produced by Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner for A24.
Character details remain undisclosed. A24 has not released a logline, and Aster has not commented publicly on the project. Industry reports have offered conflicting descriptions of the film, variously characterizing it as a thriller, a sci-fi romance, and a more traditional drama. The mystery appears deliberate.
Production is scheduled to begin November 2 in New York, running through January 14, 2027. Aster wrote the original screenplay. Scapegoat will be his fifth feature, following Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid, and Eddington.
Purnell is coming off a breakout run on Amazon's Fallout. Landry Jones has built one of the more idiosyncratic careers in contemporary American film, with credits including Get Out and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Schutte rounds out an ensemble that, on paper, has no obvious weak link.