The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and Nosferatu writer/director Robert Eggers has dealt with some dark subject matter over the course of his career – but the darkest story is yet to come. No, not in his Labyrinth sequel or his adaptation of A Christmas Carol, but in the project we’ll be seeing before those two: the creature feature Werwulf, which he’s making for Focus Features, aiming for a Christmas Day 2026 theatrical release. We’ve heard that a trailer might drop on June 29th, and in the meantime, the first official image of the character played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson has dropped online, courtesy of Esquire. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.
13th Century Terror
Werwulf is a Nosferatu reunion, as Taylor-Johnson is joined in the cast by Lily-Rose Depp, Ralph Ineson, and Willem Dafoe. Teen actress Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who just made her feature debut in Hamnet, is also in there.
Eggers has written the screenplay for Werwulf with Sjón, his co-writer on the Viking saga The Northman. Details are being kept under wraps, but The Hollywood Reporter’s sources told them “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 to Old English. Initially, Eggers was planning on shooting the feature in black and white, but that is no longer the case. Suffice to say that considering the setting and the dialect, Eggers is promising another deep dive into a muddy, costumed, and violent time period consistent with his oeuvre which has earned him a loyal film following.“ Screen Daily adds that the story centers on a mysterious creature who stalks a foggy countryside as local folklore becomes a terrifying reality for the villagers.
Eggers and Sjón are producing Werwulf with Focus Features. Chris and Eleanor Columbus, who worked with Eggers on Nosferatu, will serve as executive producers.
During a recent Q&A event, Eggers told the audience that his “medieval werewolf movie” is, “the darkest thing I’ve ever written, by far.”
Making a dark vampire movie with Nosferatu turned out quite well for Eggers. The film stirred up a lot of positive reactions, with JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray even describing the film as a new horror classic in his 10/10 review. It also managed to earn almost $182 million at the global box office during its theatrical run. So it will be interesting to see if Eggers can replicate or exceed that success with his dark medieval werewolf movie.
What did Robert Eggers tell Esquire about Werwulf?
In addition to unveiling the image of Taylor-Johnson’s character (who doesn’t have a name; apparently the only named character in the film is a dog), Esquire also conducted an interview with Eggers, who revealed that the film was inspired by many written accounts of shapeshifting beasts from this medieval era. And yes, of course, he and Sjón worked with Oxford professors on the dialogue, which is in Middle English, although a dialect coach was also brought in to temper the pronunciation so modern viewers will be able to understand what’s being said.
Eggers said Taylor-Johnson’s character is “a farmer. He’s a man who is cursed. It’s a story about a man who is cursed and is trying to find salvation through love. He’s a character who is haunted and in great pain.” Depp plays his wife, and Dafoe is a hunter.
The story takes place in “a really brutal, unforgiving, merciless, grotesque world.” Werwulf was shot on 35mm film that was given an orthochromatic treatment in post-production to make the characters’ skin tone look more sickly. They also found a way to incorporate the grain structure of black and white film onto color film to make it look all the more grungy and dirty. So if the image looks murky to you, that was all part of the plan.
Are you looking forward to Werwulf? Check out the image, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
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