Robert Eggers fans don’t have to wait much longer for his next film, Nosferatu! Focus Features has announced the film’s release date and released its first image.
Director Robert Eggers has become known for his haunting and atmospheric films, including The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman. Eggers has proven himself a master at bringing legend and folklore to life with lush visuals and innovative filmmaking, and he’s now at work on his next endeavor: a reimagining of the classic vampire film about the ravenous Count Orlock.
Surprisingly, though, Nosferatu was actually one of the first films Eggers set out to make. Nosferatu was originally announced in July 2015, shortly after the release of The Witch. However, the film has experienced setbacks over the years, leading Eggers to make his other films The Lighthouse and The Northman in the meantime.
Nosferatu plot: What is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu about?
Eggers’ film will be the second remake of the 1922 silent German film of the same name. The original Nosferatu, in turn, was an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s gothic masterpiece Dracula.
The plot of Nosferatu takes some major elements from Dracula. Thomas Hutter is sent to Transylvania to visit Count Orlok, who’s interested in buying property in the German town of Wisborg. Soon after Hutter arrives at Orlok’s castle, though, he starts to suspect Orlok is a vampire, and sure enough, Orlok begins to feed on the people of Wisborg—including Thomas’s wife, Ellen.
Will the new Nosferatu be scary? Eggers says yes. “Yeah, it’s a scary film,” he recently told Empire Magazine. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Gothic horror movie … And I do think that there hasn’t been an old-school Gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while. And I think that the majority of audiences will find this one to be the case.”
Nosferatu cast: Who is in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu?
Nosferatu will include several actors who have established relationships with Robert Eggers, making this movie a treat for fans of Eggers’ previous films.
- Bill Skarsgård will star as Count Orlok, a.k.a. Nosferatu. Skarsgård is no stranger to horror, having previously played Pennywise in It, and Keith in Barbarian.
- Willem Defoe will play Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz. Defoe has collaborated with Robert Eggers in the past, playing Thomas in The Lighthouse and Heimir the Fool in The Northman.
- Lily-Rose Depp (The King) will play Ellen Hutter.
- Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Green Knight) will play Dr. Wilhelm Sievers.
- Nicholas Hoult will play Thomas Hutter.
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson will play Friedrich Harding.
- Emma Corrin will play Anna Harding.
- Simon BcBurney will play Herr Knock.
Harry Styles was originally slated to play Thomas Hutter, while Anya Taylor-Joy signed on to play Ellen Hutter. However, neither actor is involved in the project any longer.
In the first official image from the film, at the top of this article, we see Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen, shying away from a shadow of Orlok’s outstretched hand.
Nosferatu release date: When is Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu coming out?
Focus Features has announced that Nosferatu will come out on December 25, 2024. Get ready for a very spook Christmas!
(featured image: Focus Features)
