Scarlett Johansson Joins Ari Aster’s Next Film ‘Scapegoat’ at A24

After outrunning dinosaurs for the “Jurassic World” franchise, Scarlett Johansson is extending her detour in the indie and auteur space.

The Oscar nominee is set to star in “Scapegoat,” the next film from writer-director Ari Aster. The “Hereditary” and “Eddington” filmmaker will team once again with A24 as his distributor.

Naturally, no plot details are available — a hallmark of Aster’s films since his Sundance sensation “Hereditary” announced him as a master of suffocating suspense. Variety has confirmed that Lars Knudsen is producing for his Square Peg label.

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Johansson has just wrapped production on “The Exorcist” at Universal, a new take on the classic possession story from director Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House,’ “The Life of Chuck”). She’s also starring alongside Adam Driver in the latest drama from James Grey, “Paper Tiger,” set to bow at next week’s Cannes Film Festival. The multi-hyphenate Johansson also has a voice role in “Ray Gunn,” an animated sci-fi noir from Brad Bird and Skydance Animation.

Aster’s last film “Eddington” released a year ago and boasted an all-star cast in Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Austin Butler and Pedro Pascal. A pot-boiler set in the early days of COVID, the film was an indictment of fake news and America’s dystopian political divisions. Reviews were mixed, and the film earned almost $14 million against a $25 million budget. Aster, however, remains an urgent and respected voice in his space. His additional films include “Midsommar” and “Beau Is Afraid,” and he produced last year’s awards player “Bugonia” and the box office hit “The Drama” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.

Deadline first reported the news of Johansson’s casting.