Aster made a total of eight short films in the decade before "Hereditary" dropped, and in a "Beau Is Afraid" context, a particularly interesting one is his seven-minute 2011 project "Beau." The short stars Billy Mayo as a man whose life is thrown into unnerving, paranoid disarray after an attempt to visit his mother goes very, very awry. You'll notice that the trailer for "Beau Is Afraid" teases a very similar premise.
Though "Beau's" runtime is but a fraction of "Beau Is Afraid's" four-hour glory, there are several key aspects in the short film that seem to have made their way to the upcoming film. For one, "Beau Is Afraid" used to be called "Disappointment Boulevard," but received its updated title in December 2022. This implies that Aster isn't exactly trying to hide the similarities between the two projects, which go right down to the main character's prominent forehead injury.
It remains to be seen how much inspiration "Beau Is Afraid" will draw from "Beau," though it's pretty clear that the movie will be adding a whole lot of plot — or events, at least — in the pile. Aster fans will find out for themselves when "Beau is Afraid" premieres in April 2023.
