Midsommar Director Is Making a 4-Hour Nightmare Comedy Next

Midsommar director Ari Aster has provided some new details on his next movie, which sounds like it is going to be a radical departure from what we’ve seen in the past. Aster still hasn’t revealed the title of his next original feature, nor is it clear when the filmmaker will begin work on the project. But whenever it happens, expect to see a very long movie that will venture into comedic territory.

Ari Aster recently spoke with the Associated Students Program Board at UC Santa Barbara. During the chat, talk turned to his next project. Aster is still keeping pretty right with the details, but the filmmaker referred to it as a “nightmare comedy,” as well as revealing that he has just finished a new draft of the screenplay. Perhaps the bigger reveal came when Aster elaborated on the length, as he says it is going to be four hours long.

“All I know is that it’s gonna be four hours long.”

This appears to be the same project that Ari Aster was discussing while promoting last year’s Midsommar. Aster previously called it a “zonkey nightmare comedy.” In our interview with him last year, he commented a bit further calling it an “absurdist, evil comedy,” saying he has also referred to it as his “anxiety comedy.” That is all hopelessly vague but made all the more interesting when considering he views this as something that will be packed into a four-hour epic. For what it’s worth, it does sound like this is still in the relatively early stages and things could change between now and the time cameras begin rolling.

In the course of just two movies, Ari Aster has asserted himself as one of the biggest voices in the modern horror genre. Aster made his feature directorial debut with 2018’s Hereditary. Starring Toni Collette and Alex Wolff, the movie was widely embraced by critics and went on to be a big box office success, earning $80 million. Many also felt that Colette’s performance deserved recognition at the Oscars. Midsommar, starring Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor, was a wildly different movie and similarly earned praise from the critical community. It pulled in a slightly more modest $47 million during its theatrical run.

A24 partnered with Ari Aster on his last two movies so it wouldn’t be surprising if they keep that partnership going. Though a four-hour movie of any kind is a tough sell. It seems like something that might have a better shot on a streaming service, perhaps reworked as a miniseries. It is also worth pointing out that Aster is also developing a remake of Save the Green Planet through his production company Square Peg. It isn’t clear which of these projects will move forward first. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as further details are made available. This news comes to us via the Daily Nexus.

Topics: Midsommar