A24 dropped the trailer for its new comedy-horror Death of a Unicorn on Wednesday, but we didn’t get to see much of the mythical creature for ourselves. It looks like the movie asks some big questions about science, medicine and morality, while its quips about wealth and privilege hit close to home. The movie is expected to hit theaters next year, but a precise release date still hasn’t been set.
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Death of a Unicorn stars Paul Rudd as a man named Elliot and Jenna Ortega as his teenage daughter Ridely, who hit a unicorn with their car while driving in a remote nature preserve. They are on their way to Elliot’s boss’ home for “a crisis management summit,” according to the official synopsis, and they put the unicorn in their trunk out of panic. Elliot’s bosses apparently use their connections in the pharmaceutical industry to research the unicorn, finding it instantly provides advancements like the cure to cancer.
The movie was written and directed by Alex Scharfman, and is his feature debut in both roles. Richard E. Grant plays Elliot’s boss, Dell Leopold, while Téa Leoni and Will Poulter play other members of his family. The cast also includes Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes and Steve Park.
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The trailer does not hold much back, revealing that a second unicorn will appear at some point in the film and that both will terrorize the Leopold family compound to some extent. It shows a sterilized tent full of scientists studying the creature, and also apparently takes us deeper into the surrounding nature preserve.
What it doesn’t show is a clear look at the unicorn itself. We see glimpses of a horn, an x-ray of an equine skeleton and glimpses of hooves and flanks here and there. At the end of the trailer, our best look at it shows the end of its muzzle growling right in Ortega’s face, but altogether the mystery of the unicorn sets this up as a creature feature more than anything.
It will be a big year for Ortega, who recently finished filming the long-awaited Wednesday Season 2. That is also expected to premiere in 2025, but like Death of a Unicorn, it has no firm release date yet. A24 already has three movies scheduled for next year – Parthenope on February 7, The Legend of Ochi on February 28 and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl on March 7. Check back for updates on Death of a Unicorn when they become available.
