Sony Pictures Classic

Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, 'Eleanor The Great' gets first trailer

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 8:16 PM ET

The trailer for Eleanor The Great, starring June Squibb, is here! The project was written by Tory Kamen and marks Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut.

"I guess I’ve never had that experience of making something and not… It’s different. When you’re acting in something, it’s out of your hands, of course. Obviously, I’ve been working on this in such a bubble, that then to share it with everybody, it’s great," she told Deadline. "[The experience] initially felt a little nerve-wracking, but now I’m realizing, hopefully it will be widely shared. But it’s such a different feeling than waiting to see how a director cut your performance, or what their takeaway was from the work that you guys did together. It surprises me when people say they’ve seen the film."

In Eleanor The Great, June Squibb brings to vivid life the witty and proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who after a devastating loss, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut is a comically poignant exploration of how the stories we hear become the stories we tell.

The rest of the cast includes Erin Kellyman, Jessica Hecht, Rita Zohar, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

"When I read it, I cried, and that almost never happens," the actress/director said of the script. "Sometimes you’ll read a script that’s really moving. When I read Jojo Rabbit, I cried. Sometimes a script will move you like that, which is extraordinary."

She continued to express, "I could see there was a great possibility in it. I thought, ‘Oh, actually, I think I could tell this story.’ It reminded me so much of independent film from the mid to late ’90s. I was a kid of the ’90s. I was working in independent film at that time, and I watched a lot of movies in that period of time that were throughout the ’90s into the early aughts, like Crossing Delancey and movies like that I loved as a kid. Richard LaGravenese made a great movie called Living Out Loud, and then certain Woody Allen movies from that period of time, too, that are films that I gravitate toward as just a fan."

Eleanor The Great will be released in theaters on September 26.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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