EXCLUSIVE: After taking his time in figuring out what his next original feature would be, Ari Aster looks to have not only zeroed in on that project but found another A-lister to star in it. Sources tell Deadline that Aster is directing the pic Scapegoat from a script he penned that has Scarlett Johansson set to star. Insiders add that Aster will reunite with A24, who has released his past four films, as the distributor.
Aster, whose satire Eddington premiered at Cannes last year, and his partner Lars Knudsen will produce through their Square Peg banner. As is the case with all Aster films, plot details are being kept under wraps.
Since the release of his hit horror pic Hereditary, Aster’s scripts always have drawn the town’s attention given how unique and original they tend to be.
After spending the end of last year writing, Scapegoat became his original script and his top choice to star in the film was Johansson. This would be no easy task as the Oscar nominee already had lined up a very busy shooting schedule in 2026 that included starring in the next Exorcist film at Universal as well as shooting the next Batman sequel opposite Robert Pattinson later this summer. Sources say after reading the script, Johansson was all in on starring in the film and producers were on board for a shoot later this year to accommodate her busy schedule.
Johansson is coming off an equally busy 2025 that included helping relaunched the Jurassic World franchise with Jurassic World: Rebirth. That film, which hit theaters in July, went on to gross $868M worldwide and has a sequel in the works.
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Johansson recently made her directorial debut with the Sony Pictures Classics drama Eleanor the Great, which world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Next up she can be seen in the James Gray pic Paper Tiger opposite Miles Teller and Adam Driver. That film also will make its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Aster is repped by WME and Johnson Shapiro Slewett and Kole, and Johansson is repped by CAA and Yorn Levine LLC.