‘Opus’ Trailer: Journalist Ayo Edebiri Runs Afoul of Cult Leader Rock Star John Malkovich

The new thriller written and directed by Mark Anthony Green opens in theaters from A24 on March 14.

“There’s no cult like celebrity” goes the tagline for “Opus,” Mark Anthony Green’s new thriller. Looking like a cross of “Don’t Blink Twice,” “The Menu,” and “Almost Famous,” the film from A24, out in theaters March 14, is about a reclusive rock star named Moretti (John Malkovich) who’s suddenly releasing a new album after almost 30 years. Watch the trailer for “Opus” below.

As part of his album release, Moretti invites select press, including Ayo Edebiri, Juliette Lewis, and Murray Hamilton to his remote compound where he lives like a prince. And he draws them into a dangerous game where his motives are sinister at best. Edebiri’s movie career has taken off since she rocketed to stardom with FX’s “The Bear.” “Opus” follows her roles in “Bottoms,” “Theater Camp,” and “The Sweet East,” and voice role in “Inside Out 2.”

“Opus” is the feature film directorial debut of Mark Anthony Green, who directs from his own script. Amber Midthunder, Stephanie Suganami, and Tatanka Means round out the cast.

The official synopsis from A24 is as follows: “A young writer (Ayo Edebiri) is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.”

The role follows Edebiri’s directorial debut on the third season of “The Bear.” She helmed the episode “Napkins,” focused on Liza Colon-Zayas’s Tina. And before anything else she took a class for first-time television directors at the DGA led by Paris Barclay, Keith Powell, and Dr. Valerie Weiss.

“That class is probably one of the coolest, greatest things I’ve ever done,” Edebiri told IndieWire’s Proma Khosla. “The thing that I walked away with the most was that the only wrong way to direct — well, there’s probably a lot of wrong ways, but beyond not communicating and not being open — is not finding your way. If you try to do somebody else’s way, or work somebody else’s way, it’s not going to work. Our instructors were so helpful with really illustrating their differences — and that they were successful with their differences — and so encouraging us to find our our ways of communicating, stressing the fact that you always have to be communicating.”

Watch the trailer for “Opus” below.