Julia Roberts delivers a career-redefining performance in the first trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s psychological drama After the Hunt, which pits generations against each other in a blistering #MeToo-era showdown. The Amazon MGM film features Roberts as a college professor whose life unravels when a star student (Ayo Edebiri) accuses a colleague (Andrew Garfield) of sexual assault—a scandal that threatens to expose long-buried secrets from her past.
The trailer crackles with generational tension from its opening moments, as Garfield’s Hank, a tenured professor, sneers at Gen Z’s sensitivity: “When did offending someone become the preeminent cardinal sin?” Edebiri’s Maggie swiftly counters: “Maybe it’s around the same time your generation started making sweeping generalizations about ours?” What follows is a masterclass in psychological suspense, as Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Challengers) layers faculty politics with racial dynamics and institutional betrayal.
Roberts anchors the film with one of her most complex roles in years—a woman caught between protecting her career and confronting her complicity. The trailer hints at her character’s mysterious past through fragmented glimpses of a younger self (played by The Crown’s Emma Laird), while Edebiri delivers searing intensity as the student whose accusation ignites the crisis. “It’s amazing to me that a young Black woman can get assaulted and all these white people find a way to make it about themselves,” Maggie spits in the trailer’s most electrifying moment.
Garfield sinks his teeth into the role of the accused professor, oscillating between wounded pride and calculated aggression. The supporting cast—including Guadagnino regulars Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny—adds further texture to this exploration of power, privilege, and institutional rot.
Written by Nora Garrett (The Good Lord Bird), After the Hunt continues Guadagnino’s fascination with psychosexual dynamics and social hierarchies, following his tennis drama Challengers. The film’s October release positions it as a major awards contender, with Roberts potentially eyeing her fifth Oscar nomination.
After the Hunt premieres in New York and Los Angeles on October 10 before expanding nationwide on October 17.
Why It Matters: At 56, Roberts continues to evolve beyond her rom-com roots, while Edebiri—fresh off her Emmy win for The Bear—proves her dramatic chops in a role that could redefine her career. The film marks Guadagnino’s most politically charged work yet, arriving as #MeToo cases continue to dominate headlines.
Don’t Miss: The trailer’s chilling final shot—a blood-spattered Roberts staring down the barrel of the camera—hints this campus drama may spiral into something far darker.
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