‘After the Hunt’ Trailer: Julia Roberts Is Caught Between Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield in a Twisted Tale of Privilege

Luca Guadagnino directs the psychological thriller that co-stars Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny.

“After The Hunt” just might be Luca Guadagnino‘s version of “Notes on a Scandal” with a twist. The highly-anticipated academia-set psychological thriller stars Julia Roberts as a college professor whose star pupil (Ayo Edebiri) accuses another beloved teacher (Andrew Garfield) of assault. That professor then in turn alleges that the student’s claims are only due to him catching her plagiarizing a piece. Who will Roberts believe?

The trailer teases Edebiri’s character’s queer obsession with Roberts’, as the ensemble also debate the privilege of higher education amid a growing generational divide. The tagline reads: “Not everything is supposed to make you comfortable,” while the synopsis hints that Roberts’ character will “find herself at a personal and professional crossroads […] as a dark secret from her own past also threatens to come into the light.”

“After The Hunt” is written by first-time screenwriter Nora Garrett. Director Guadagnino reunites with stars Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny for the film, as well as “Challengers” and “Queer” composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the score.

Guadagnino said during “WTF with Marc Maron” that “After The Hunt” is “one of my very rare movies” where it is not “about sexuality or love.” Instead, the feature is a modern commentary on culture. “It’s a very timely movie for where we are now, in terms of the society and the division in society and the extreme positions that we can have vis-a-vis an opinion in a way,” he said. “It’s about what happens in the milieu of academia between younger and older people and the idea of consent. I can tell you that it’s very loaded. I can tell you that the movie is very provocative, but not in a stupid way, but I would say in a very articulate way.”

Guadagnino further said that “After The Hunt” is Roberts’ “best performance” of her career.

Garfield, who has been attempting to work with Guadagnino for years, referred to the auteur as “a radical artist” at CinemaCon. He added that it was a “dream come true to be directed by a living master,” as Guadagnino has the “gift for exploring the complexity of what it is to be human.”

“After The Hunt” is produced by Guadagnino, Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody, and Allan Mandelbaum, with Garrett, Karen Lunder, Justin Wilkes, and Alice Dawson executing producing.

Amazon MGM Studios will release “After The Hunt” in New York and LA theaters October 10 with a national rollout October 17. Check out the trailer below.