Pedro Pascal slaps Joaquin Phoenix during a heated standoff in first trailer for Hereditary director’s pandemic drama that critics are calling “the first truly modern western”

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Credit: A24

The first full-length trailer for Eddington, directed by Ari Aster, has arrived – it looks a truly wild time.

In the brief clip, which can be viewed below, Sherriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) slowly but surely starts to unravel as COVID-19 hits the small town of Eddington and tensions begin to rise amongst residents. Joe ends up starting a war with Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who is running for reelection. There’s plenty of gunfire, protests, and violence – though nothing beats the scene where Pascal slaps Phoenix across the face.

We also get our first glimpse at Emma Stone as Joe’s wife Louise, Deirdre O’Connell as Louise’s mother, and Austin Butler as Vernon Jefferson Peak, who appears to be a religious zealot. The cast also includes Luke Grimes, Micheal Ward, and Clifton Collins Jr.

The contemporary Western had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme D’or and was apparently met with a mixed reaction from viewers and critics alike.

“Covid felt like an inflection point, where the link to the old society we lived in was finally cut,” Aster told The New York Times, explaining his vision for the film. “That old idea of democracy being something that could be any sort of countervailing force to power and tech and finance, it went away completely at that moment, and it’s where I think we became fully isolated.

Eddington is set to hit theaters on July 18. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, check out our list of movie release dates.