Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd Have a Magical (and Terrifying) Problem in A24’s ‘Death of a Unicorn’ Trailer

Yesterday, A24 provided a first glimpse into Death of a Unicorn and made it look as mysterious as possible. Even though it was pretty straightforward, the teaser poster unveiled by the fan-favorite production company provoked some questions. So, is this a fantasy movie? Is the unicorn literal? The poster suggested so. Now, the trailer is finally out, and we finally can make some sense of what the heck is going on in this Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) and Paul Rudd (Only Murders in the Building) movie.

The story of Death of a Unicorn seems pretty unique. In the dark comedy, Rudd and Ortega play father and daughter who are on a way to a crisis management summit. As if it weren’t bad enough that they were summoned for it, they crash into a unicorn on the way. As legend goes, every part of the unicorn is valuable, including its flesh, blood, and, most of all, its horn. Another layer to the mystical animal’s body parts is that they also have curative properties, but everyone in the story will learn the hard way that there are consequences for taking what isn’t theirs to take.

The trailer reveals that only a good dose of vaping will relax Ortega’s character after hitting the creature. Initially, everyone is in denial about what the creature really is, but after they accept it, the situation quickly escalates to a sci-fi horror (for the unicorn) story in which every bit of the animal is picked apart, studied and used. Probably why things take a pretty macabre turn, but we will have to wait until the premiere to actually see how this unicorn slasher goes down.

Who Is The Team Behind ‘Death of a Unicorn’?

Aside from Ortega and Rudd, the cast of Death of a Unicorn is a pretty good one: it also features Richard E. Grant (Saltburn), Will Poulter (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Anthony Carrigan (McVeigh), Jessica Hynes (Paddington in Peru), Sunita Mani (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Steve Park (Asteroid City) and Téa Leoni (Madam Secretary).

Death of a Unicorn is written and directed by Alex Scharfman, who is making his feature film debut after helming short films. He’s hardly a newbie to Hollywood, though, having integrated the production team of titles like Resurrection (starring Rebecca Hall), House of Spoils (with Ariana DeBose), Playback (led by Christian Slater) and film festival hit Keep The Lights On. Scharfman also has excellent connections: he got none other than horror master John Carpenter to compose the score of Death of a Unicorn.

As different and weird as it sounds, Death of a Unicorn is hardly the only daring project that A24 has put out into the world. The company has already graced us with an alien Scarlett Johansson (Avengers franchise) in Under The Skin, a haunting folk tale in The Witch, a Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter film series) like you’ve never seen in Swiss Army Man and the documentary of a shell named Marcel — just to name a few.

Death of a Unicorn is slated to premiere in the spring of 2025. A specific release date is yet to be announced by A24. You can check out the trailer above.