Scarlett Johansson Teams Up With Ari Aster for New A24 Film SCAPEGOAT

After taking a beat to figure out his next move, Ari Asterhas locked in not one but two big pieces of his upcoming project. The filmmaker is officially moving forward with a new original film titled Scapegoat, and he’s bringing in a major star to lead it.

Scarlett Johanssonis set to headline the film, marking a high-profile collaboration that already feels like one to watch. Aster will write and direct the movie, continuing his long-standing partnership with A24, the studio behind all of his previous films.

That includes projects like Hereditary and his recent satire Eddington. As expected with an Aster project, story details for Scapegoat are being kept tightly under wraps.

Ever since the breakout success of Hereditary, Aster’s scripts have consistently drawn attention across the industry thanks to their originality and unpredictability, so it’s no surprise that Scapegoat quickly became a priority project.

The road to landing Johansson wasn’t exactly simple. The Oscar-nominated actress already has a packed 2026 schedule, including roles in the next installment of The Exorcist franchise at Universal and the upcoming sequel to The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson.

But after reading Aster’s script, Johansson was fully committed to making it work. Production is now being planned to fit into her tight calendar later this year.

Johansson has been on a serious run lately. In 2025, she helped relaunch the Jurassic World franchise with Jurassic World: Rebirth, which pulled in an impressive $868 million worldwide and already has a sequel in development. On top of that, she stepped behind the camera for the first time, directing Eleanor the Great.

Johansson will next appear in Paper Tiger from James Gray, starring alongside Miles Teller and Adam Driver, with that film also set to debut at Cannes.

With Aster’s track record for crafting unsettling, thought-provoking stories and Johansson’s ability to command the screen, Scapegoat feels like a perfect creative collision.

Source: Deadline