‘Yellowstone’ Star Luke Grimes to Star in Divisive Director’s New Movie

Yellowstone star Luke Grimes will soon be on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

He will appear in Ari Aster’s new Western thriller Eddington, which will be competing for the Palme d’Or at the iconic French film festival.

Aster is well-known for his horror films, including Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau is Afraid. This is the first time the director is stepping outside of the genre.

The new film boasts plenty of huge names. Joaquin Phoenix will star, after previously appearing in Aster’s last film Beau is Afraid. Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, and Deirdre O’Connell also star, in addition to the aforementioned Grimes.

According to /Film, Aster wrote the script for Eddington before releasing his other films and intended for it to be his debut—before becoming a household name with his wildly popular horror films.

Plot details for the film are under wraps, although it is confirmed to take place around the COVID lockdown (the film’s official poster features buffalo falling off a cliff with the tagline ‘hindsight is 2020’). According to distributor A24’s website, the film is set in May 2020 where “a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.”

Aster is one of the more controversial names in modern cinema, with his last film Beau is Afraid ending up as one of the most love-it-or-hate-it movies in recent memory due to its off-kilter humor and intentionally molasses-slow pacing.

A trailer for the hotly-anticipated Western is expected any day now.