It’s been four long years (including a pandemic) since Ari Aster‘s last film, 2019’s “Midsommar.” But now, after some release days and a title change, Aster’s latest is set to hit theaters: “Beau Is Afraid” arrives this April, as per A24‘s brand new poster for the film.
Many expected a Cannes premiere for “Beau Is Afraid” in May this year, so now speculation abounds about where and when the film has its world premiere. Will it be a surprise at Sundance later this month, or perhaps show up at the Berlinale or SXSW? Expect more details about the movie’s premiere very soon.
As for the plot of “Beau Is Afraid,” Aster continues to work in his usual dread-filled vein. Dubbed “a decades-spanning surrealist horror film set in an alternate present,” Joaquin Phoenix stars as a super-successful entrepreneur dealing with mommy issues and supernatural threats. The film also stars Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, and Kylie Rogers. Armen Nahapetian plays a younger version of Phoenix’s Beau. Parker Posey, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Denis Ménochet, Hayley Squires, and Michael Gandolfini also star. Zoe Lister-Jones and Richard Kind round out the main cast.
Along with directing, Ari Aster pens the script for “Beau Is Afraid,” as he did on “Midsommar” and his 2018 feature debut “Hereditary.” Aster also reunites with cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski and editor Lucian Johnston on the new film. Aster shot the movie in Montreal, Canada through the summer and early fall in 2021.
Initially titled “Disappointment Blvd.,” “Beau Is Afraid” is one of 2023’s most anticipated titles. Expect a solution to the film’s world premiere mystery very soon. Check out the film’s new poster below.
