Everything known now about Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt” with Julia Roberts, from plot and cast to the likely timeline and festival strategy.
Fresh off the buzz of “Challengers” in April 2024, Luca Guadagnino lined up his next feature: “After the Hunt”, a taut campus-set thriller with Julia Roberts at the center. Trade reports in April 2024 flagged the project as moving through active development with A24 involved, positioning it as the director’s next pivot into high-pressure, character-driven terrain.
Early loglines describe an esteemed professor whose life starts to unravel when a former student resurfaces with a damaging allegation about a celebrated colleague. Careers, reputations, family ties – everything on the line. The hook is immediate, the stakes are familiar yet sharp, and the pairing of Roberts with Guadagnino signals a prestige package designed for a theatrical-first conversation.
After the Hunt by Luca Guadagnino: project status and why it matters
The main idea is clear: Guadagnino swings from romantic tension to ethical suspense without losing his knack for intimate spectacle. “After the Hunt” sits in that space where a small decision tips into a public crisis, a zone he has explored since “A Bigger Splash” in 2015 and “Suspiria” in 2018.
The project surfaced publicly in April 2024, soon after “Challengers” hit theaters and energized box office talk. That timing matters. Momentum drives casting, financing and date selection. It also hints at a fast-moving production path, although no studio-dated release has been announced.
Names linked on casting quickly drew attention. Julia Roberts is attached to lead. Additional casting discussions reported in May 2024 included Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri. Those reports framed the ensemble as multigenerational and set inside academia, a setting that naturally heightens power dynamics and secrecy.
Cast, plot and tone: Julia Roberts steps into a high-stakes campus story
Observation one: Roberts in a faculty role signals a shift from glam iconography to institutional authority, the kind that can collapse with a single allegation. The narrative promises a chain reaction across classrooms, closed-door meetings and media glare. Not loud, but razor-edged.
Readers often ask what kind of thriller this is. Think institutional drama under pressure, not procedural chase. Tension comes from reputation risk and conflicting testimonies. That is where Guadagnino typically excels – the private moment that detonates in public.
The film slots into a body of work that regularly lands at major fall festivals. “Bones and All” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, where Luca Guadagnino won the Silver Lion for Best Director and Taylor Russell received the Marcello Mastroianni Award. “Suspiria” bowed at Venice in 2018. “A Bigger Splash” premiered there in 2015. That track record shapes expectations for “After the Hunt” if cameras roll in time for a 2025 unveiling.
Timeline, festivals and release: what to expect next
Here is the practical part. Without an official start-of-production date, the release window stays open. The April 2024 announcement cadence suggested a late 2024 or early 2025 shoot, which would set up a festival run in the second half of 2025. That is the logical path, not a guarantee.
Context helps. “Challengers” arrived in April 2024 after a well-timed campaign that built across early spring. Separately, industry reports in mid 2024 noted Guadagnino stepping away from “Queer”, clearing space for “After the Hunt” in his calender. That kind of pivot often accelerates prep on the next greenlit script.
So what is missing to make the picture complete: an official production start, locked cast beyond Roberts, and distribution details for key territories. Once those land, a release target usually follows within weeks. If the shoot lands before winter 2024 ends, Venice or Toronto in 2025 becomes a real scenario. If it slides, then early 2026 enters the chat.