Director Robert Eggers on the set of his film ‘Nosferatu’, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
Preview:
- Filmmaker Robert Eggers has announced his next film.
- He’ll write and direct werewolf tale ‘Werwulf.’
- It should be in theaters on Christmas Day, 2026.
While it may not have quite the same box office footprint as, say, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ or ‘Inside Out 2,’ Robert Eggers’ latest slice of historical horror certainly performed for the director, with a $40 million five-day opening, doubling industry expectations.
‘Nosferatu‘ has scared up more than $156 million worldwide and become Eggers’ highest-grossing movie to date, not to mention one of the more successful horror offerings of 2024.
And now, via The Hollywood Reporter, we have word on what he wants to do next. Eggers is teaming back up with Universal’s indie genre arm Focus Features to craft ‘Werwulf,’ which as the name suggests, will see some terrifying transformations.
It’s certainly a challenge, even for a filmmaker as accomplished as Eggers since werewolves have not had the easiest time of it at the box office. The most recent howling horror to try, Leigh Whannel’s ‘Wolf Man,’ failed to take a bite out of ticket sales, with just $17 million worldwide so far after a little less than a week on release.
Related Article: Filmmaker Robert Eggers Talks ‘Nosferatu’ and Remaking a Classic
What’s the story of ‘Werwulf’?
(L to R) Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, director Robert Eggers, Willem Dafoe, and Anya Taylor-Joy at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Northman.’
Details remain scarce on this one since Eggers has yet to reveal much, but he wrote ‘Werwulf’ with Sjón, who co-wrote violent Viking saga ‘The Northman’ with the filmmaker.
The Reporter’s sources say the story is set in 13th century England. The script also features dialogue that was true to the time period and has translations and annotations for those uninitiated in Old English.
Eggers, in keeping with his love of stylish and creepy filmmaking, had originally intended to shoot the movie in black & white, though that has reportedly now been dropped.
Aboard to produce are Christopher Columbus –– yes, the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Home Alone’ director –– and his daughter Eleanor, who through their company Maiden Voyage Pictures, have been partnering with Eggers since his first film and were involved with shepherding ‘Nosferatu’ to screens.
What else is Robert Eggers developing?
(L to R) Producer Chris Columbus, director Robert Eggers and director of photography Jarin Blaschke on the set of their film ‘Nosferatu’, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
Not one to have just one project in the works at any one time, Eggers is juggling multiple possibilities, looking for whichever one is moved forward. It would appear ‘Werwulf’ has leapfrogged several others.
Here’s what Eggers told Indiewire about the process:
“[Medieval movie ‘The Knight’ is] on a shelf with a lot of screenplays. I have five things going on, because you never know what’s going to work, what’s going to appeal to people, what’s going to be greenlit. This movie [‘Nosferatu’] was not greenlit three times. I absolutely thought I was making a movie that has not gotten greenlit twice instead of this, so you never know. You’ve got to have a lot of stuff going on.”
Other projects that fell by the wayside include a Rasputin miniseries. And away from horror, Eggers reportedly would like to tackle a Western one day, having spent summers with his grandfather in Wyoming.
And this is what Eggers has said about his career to date:
“‘The Witch,’ proud of it, but I was frustrated that I wasn’t able to get what was in my head onto the screen. ‘The Lighthouse’ was a perfect stepping stone where I felt like I was able to do that. And ’The Northman,’ because the scope and scale was so massive, it was harder for me to do the same. It was a beast, a big learning experience, I’ve said this before, after making ‘The Northman,’ I finally felt like I know how to direct a movie, like I’m not trying to convince people that I know how to direct a movie. I’m not someone who has a lot of ideas and just hoping that it’s going to work. That gave me the tools to finally feel confident as a director, so it was nice going into ‘Nosferatu’ with that feeling.”
Who will star in ‘Werwulf’?
Willem Dafoe stars as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz in director Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
Casting has yet to be announced at this point, though Eggers tends to inspire loyalty in his cast no matter the sticky (usually bloody) situations he thrusts them into.
Anya Taylor-Joy, who starred in his debut ‘The Witch’ returned for ‘The Northman’, while her co-star Ralph Ineson has been seen in almost all of Eggers’ movies apart from ‘The Lighthouse.’
Willem Dafoe, meanwhile, has so far cropped up in ‘The Lighthouse,’ ‘The Northman’ and ‘Nosferatu’ and we know Eggers considers him a kindred spirit, so there’s a chance he’ll make it a fourth time should schedules allow and the right role is in the ‘Werwulf’ script. And let’s be honest: who doesn’t want to see Dafoe going through a scary, hairy transmogrification!
We’ll have to wait and see at this point, though.
When will ‘Werwulf’ howl into cinemas?
Since Eggers and Focus saw such success with the seemingly strange Christmas Day release slot for ‘Nosferatu’ last year, they’re trying again, with ‘Werwulf’ targeting December 25th, 2026 as the date on which it will look to terrify audiences. Hairy Christmas!
‘Nosferatu’ director Robert Eggers.
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