Joaquin Phoenix has decided on his follow-up role to his Oscar-winning performance in Joker, and it will be Ari Aster’s next project for A24, titled Disappointment Blvd. While it was rumored last year that Phoenix would be starring in Aster’s next film titled Beau Is Afraid, it is now official that Aster's next project, and the one in which Phoenix will star, is Disappointment Blvd. Just as Aster’s first two feature films, Disappointment Blvd. will be financed and distributed by art-house studio A24.
Aster’s macabre mind produced previous horror hits such as Hereditary in 2018 and Midsommar in 2019, which were both lauded by critics and performed well at the box office for indie horror films. Aster’s breakthrough and feature-length directorial debut Hereditary, which revolved around a grieving family, become A24's highest-grossing film worldwide with over $80 million at the box office. Toni Collette garnered considerable praise for her role as a miniaturist and the family’s matriarch. Aster followed up Hereditary with Midsommar, which followed a group of students traveling to Sweden for a Midsommar festival. The film grossed $47 million worldwide and helped launch Florence Pugh into stardom.
Now, it is official that the visionary director of Hereditary and Midsommar will stay with A24 for his next project, and cast Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role, per Deadline. Plot details are still scarce at this point, but Disappointment Blvd. is being called an “intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.” While Beau Is Afraid was rumored to be a “four-hour nightmare comedy,” starring Phoenix, it is unclear whether or not Disappointment Blvd. is a newer iteration of the same project.
It is still unknown when Aster and Phoenix’s project will begin production, but it will likely have to be soon since Phoenix has also agreed to star in Ridley Scott’s film Kitbag in the role of Napoleon Bonaparte. Since Scott is currently working on his star-studded crime thriller Gucci, production for Kitbag will likely not begin until 2022, leaving a significant window open for Phoenix to work on Aster’s next project.
For the indie director, landing an A-list caliber star such as Phoenix is a momentous achievement in Aster's career, especially since Phoenix is known to be very selective with his roles and is in incredibly high demand following his Oscar-winning role as the Clown Prince of Crime. Phoenix signing on speaks volumes for Aster’s script and will serve to further heighten the anticipation for Disappointment Blvd.
Source: Deadline