Sony Pictures has revealed the first-look images from Darren Aronofsky‘s Caught Stealing, starring Austin Butler, Matt Smith, and Zoë Kravitz. In the film, Butler plays a hard-luck former ballplayer who becomes the target of a variety of underworld thugs and sociopaths, with the story filling in the strange details.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Aronofsky talks about the risks of shooting on location; they shot in New York’s East Village. “It’s just filled with oddballs,” Aronofsky says. The East Village is full of “oddballs,” and that’s what makes it perfect for this kind of story.

Aronofsky said, “The thing about the East Village is that there’s so many of those great kind of characters.” Aronofsky added, “It’s just filled with oddballs, this movie. And that’s kind of my experience and why I love the East Village so much. It’s just such a magnet for that, still to this day.”
Aronofsky continued, “Everyone thinks that East Village belongs to them. And it’s funny, because I believe the East Village belongs to me.” Aronofsky adds. “I’ve been going there since I was in high school. I was a little kid from Brooklyn, and that was the coolest place in the world to be, partly because it was the only place that served underage minors at the time. We would just always go to the East Village and get into trouble.”


Here’s the plot details for Caught Stealing:
Based on Charlie Huston’s book series, Caught Stealing follows burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson (Butler), who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a deadly struggle for survival within the criminal underworld of 1990s New York City. Forced to navigate a treacherous web of crime, he finds himself in a fight he never saw coming.
The film stars Butler as Hank Thompson, Kravitz as Yvonne, Regina King as Roman, Smith as Russ, Liev Schreiber, Will Brill as Jason, Bad Bunny as Colorado, Griffin Dunne as Paul, Vincent D’Onofrio, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Dale, Action Bronson, and George Abud.
Produced by Aronofsky alongside his Protozoa Pictures partner, Ari Handel.
Caught Stealing will hit theaters in the United States on August 29, 2025, by Sony Pictures Releasing.
Source: Sony Pictures/X