Jude Law could be the latest major star to enter the unsettling world of filmmaker Ari Aster, with the Oscar-nominated actor reportedly in negotiations to join Scarlett Johansson and Jacob Elordi in the upcoming A24 thriller Scapegoat.
According to Deadline, Law is in talks to co-star opposite Johansson in the highly secretive project, which will reunite Aster with A24 for his fifth feature film. Aster is directing the movie from his own screenplay, while Lars Knudsen is producing for the filmmaker’s Square Peg production banner.
Very little is currently known about the story behind Scapegoat, with Aster and the studio keeping the plot firmly under wraps. Various reports and speculation have suggested everything from a story involving a doctor and an internet-famous individual to a potential science-fiction romance or a more traditional dramatic thriller. At this stage, however, no official plot details have been confirmed.
Law’s potential involvement adds another high-profile name to a project that already boasts an impressive cast. Johansson was attached to headline the film earlier this year, while Elordi subsequently entered talks to join the project in August.
For Aster, Scapegoat represents another collaboration with A24, the studio behind his previous four feature films: Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid and Eddington. The filmmaker established himself with Hereditary before following it with Midsommar, while Beau Is Afraid and Eddington demonstrated his willingness to move beyond conventional horror into increasingly surreal and unconventional territory.
Law arrives with an equally varied filmography. The actor has appeared in films including The Talented Mr. Ripley, Closer and the Sherlock Holmes franchise, while more recent work has included The Skeleton Crew, Black Rabbit and The Wizard of the Kremlin. He is also attached to the upcoming Apple limited series Wild Things, in which he will portray Vegas entertainer Siegfried opposite Andrew Garfield.
Johansson, meanwhile, continues to build an increasingly diverse slate of projects. Following her recent work in Jurassic World Rebirth and The Phoenician Scheme, she has several major projects ahead, including James Gray’s Paper Tiger, Brad Bird’s animated Ray Gunn, Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs and Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II.
Elordi has also become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young performers, with credits including Saltburn, Priscilla and Frankenstein. His involvement in Scapegoat marks another intriguing collaboration as he continues to expand his filmography beyond his breakthrough work in television.
With its combination of Aster’s distinctive filmmaking style and a cast led by Johansson, Elordi and potentially Law, Scapegoat is already shaping up as one of A24’s more closely watched upcoming projects.
For now, audiences will have to wait for Aster and A24 to reveal exactly what Scapegoat has in store.
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