If you're an actor in Hollywood right now, culty genre maestro Robert Eggers is surely one of the tip-top names you'd be dying to work with. Fortunately for a lucky few, he's now full-steam ahead on his follow up to The Northman, a “reimagining” of the vampy silent film classic Nosferatu, dubbed a “gothic tale of obsession” in official film materials. According to Deadline, the horror flick recently kicked into production in Prague, with Eggers also adding another star player to the ensemble, Bond contender Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Eggers is one of the most sought-after behind-the-camera names in the American movie industry off the back of a succession of cult horror hits. First came The Witch, which shot Anya Taylor-Joy up casting lists across Hollywood, followed by batshit R-Patz and Willem Dafoe two-hander The Lighthouse, then the aforementioned Northman. While the latter wasn't an incredible commercial success, it was roundly considered one of the best big-budget movies of the year, consistently ranking in critics' year-end lists.
Here's everything else we know about Nosferatu.
What is Nosferatu about?
Dubbed a “reimagining” of the German silent film from 1922, an unofficial and unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Eggers' version will star Bill Skarsgård as Transylvanian vamp Count Orlok, described as “ancient” in the official synopsis. (You'll recall he portrayed another ancient horror villain, Pennywise the Clown, in the It remake and its sequel.) His muse and object of desire will be a “haunted young woman” portrayed by The Idol's Lily-Rose Depp.
Little else is known plot-wise, nor how close Eggers will stick to the original silent narrative. In a recent interview with Collider, frequent collaborator and Nosferatu player Willem Dafoe described it as “Nosferatu, [Egger's] version of Nosferatu,” otherwise keeping his cards close to his chest.
Who will star in Nosferatu?
Along with Skarsgård, Depp, Dafoe and Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin and Nicholas Hoult have both been cast in Nosferatu, along with Simon McBurney and The Witch's Ralph Ineson. Little is presently known about their roles.
Funnily enough, Harry Styles was once attached to the film, but he was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. He was to play Thomas Hutter, the male lead now set to be portrayed by Hoult, and not the titular blood-sucker, as Eggers was keen to note in an interview with The Guardian.
