Ari Aster has expanded the cast of his new project for A24 — the thriller 'Scapegoat.' According to an exclusive from Deadline, the director has added six actors: Spencer Granese, Keane Ruffalo, Jared Abrahamson, Brock Yurich, Indiana Affleck and Finn Harry.
Scarlett Johansson, Jacob Elordi, Jude Law, Ella Purnell, Caleb Landry Jones, Samba Schutte and Cory Michael Smith had already been confirmed for the film. Shooting began in New York in early November.
'Scapegoat' is a psychological thriller with dramatic elements, in which Aster again works from his own script and with producer Lars Knudsen through the company Square Peg. A24 is handling distribution, as it did for the director's four previous films.
The world of the picture is contemporary America, where social media turn a personal tragedy into a public trial. The atmosphere is saturated with tension and a sense of the inevitable collapse of reputation. The central tension is the doctor's struggle for a career and for the truth against a wave of public outrage.
To watch the film is to sink into a growing sense of paranoia and moral ambiguity. One specific detail: the scene in the operating room, where a routine procedure turns into a catalyst for chaos, stays in the memory as the moment when personal space suddenly becomes an arena for universal condemnation.
This project matters not only as another work by Aster, but also as a continuation of the conversation about scapegoating in the era of digital culture and media tribunals.
An interesting detail: plot details are still being kept secret, though rumors mention the story of a surgeon whose patient — an internet celebrity — dies during an operation, after which pressure from the family and the public descends on the doctor.
Production is in full swing, and it is already clear that 'Scapegoat' will become one of A24's most anticipated releases of 2027. Fans of auteur cinema will get yet another reason to discuss where Aster is heading after 'Eddington.'
