I wouldn’t expect much holiday cheer from the mind behind The Witch and Nosferatu, but according to Deadline, Robert Eggers is set to write and direct a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for Warner Bros. Even more intriguing? He’s eyeing Willem Dafoe to play Ebenezer Scrooge —now that’s some inspired casting.
The more I think about it, the more excited I am by the possibilities. Although it is ultimately an uplifting tale, A Christmas Carol can be downright spooky at times. Plus, the 1800s time period fits right in with Eggers’ aesthetic, as he once said that he would never make a movie set in the modern day.
The story of A Christmas Carol has been adapted a lot, with one of the earliest surviving film adaptations dating all the way back to 1901. Some of the interpretations of the classic story include The Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooged starring Bill Murray, and a motion-capture movie from Robert Zemeckis featuring Jim Carrey as Scrooge and the three ghosts. My personal favourite is Scrooge, the 1951 adaptation featuring Alastair Sim in the title role.
However, before Eggers sets his sights on spooky festive cheer, his next project will be Werwulf. The film is already slated for a December 25, 2026 release, and Eggers plans on shooting it later this year. He co-wrote the script with Sjón, his co-writer on The Northman. Details are being kept under wraps, but it’s been said that the story is set in 13th-century England. The script features “dialogue that was true to the time period and has translations and annotations for those uninitiated in Old English.” The film was initially planned to be shot in black-and-white, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Eggers has teased that Werwulf is “the darkest thing I’ve ever written, by far.“
Eggers is also expected to write and direct a sequel to Labyrinth, Jim Henson’s classic musical fantasy film. The dude is busy.
What do you think of Robert Eggers tackling A Christmas Carol? What do you think of the possibility of Willem Dafoe playing Scrooge? While we’re at it, what has been your favourite adaptation of A Christmas Carol?
