Following the recent theatrical release of the vampire horror-comedy Abigail, another storm is brewing on the horizon for fans of the iconic fangs. Since 2015, this project has been on director Robert Eggers’ plate, taunting and tantalizing him. At the time, he felt like he had not yet established himself as a filmmaker, with only The VVitch under his belt at that point. Since then, he has gone on to create The Lighthouse and most recently, The Northman, and is ready to move forward with the titan of a film, Nosferatu.
Considering his movies all lean heavily on folklore and mythology, it’s no wonder why he was the first pick to write and direct this film. Based on the “unauthorized and unofficial” adaptation of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, Dracula, the 1922 Nosferatu movie was one of the earliest depictions of vampires in cinema. It was remade in 1979, with the title Nosferatu the Vampyre, written and directed by Werner Herzog. Now, Eggers will bring the classic horror movie into the 21st century, much to the disdain of any remaining descendants of Bram Stoker. This handy guide will tell you everything you need to know about the upcoming film!
Editor’s Note: This piece was updated on September 30, 2024.
6 Does ‘Nosferatu’ Have a Release Date?
Focus Features had previously been holding off on unveiling the release date for Nosferatu, but in November 2023, it was revealed that Nosferatu will be released exclusively in movie theaters on Christmas Day 2024. The movie will be competing against three other high-profile movies releasing on the same day; the Nicole Kidman-led erotic thriller Babygirl, the Barry Jenkins-scripted sports drama The Fire Inside, and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet. Three major movies are opening just five days prior with the releases of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Mufasa: The Lion King, and The Brutalist.
5 Is There a Trailer for ‘Nosferatu’?
Yes, after being shown exclusively in theaters in front of showings of Jeff Nichols‘ crime-drama The Bikeriders, Focus Features released the first official teaser trailer for Nosferatu online on June 24, 2024.
The teaser was previously unveiled at Universal’s CinemaCon presentation in April 2024, with Collider’s Britta DeVore describing the trailer for the site:
The teaser opens with
Lily-Rose Depp
, dutifully praying and being vigilant while asking something – or someone – to come to her. A voiceover can be heard of Depp’s character, Ellen Hutter, asking
Willem Dafoe
’s Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz if evil comes from within someone or if it works its way in from the outside. From here, the pace picked up, with horrific imagery filled with hoards of rats and a man biting a pigeon’s head off while we watched
Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas Hutter
take his first look at the castle of Count Orlok (
Bill Skarsgård
). Finally, off in the shadows, with the figure of a dog by his side, stood the towering titular vampire. Although we didn’t get to see Skarsgård’s face, the imagery was haunting enough, causing the audience to break out in thunderous applause.
The full trailer for Nosferatu was released by Focus Features on September 30, 2024. The two-and-a-half-minute preview teases Ellen Hutter being haunted by Count Orlok, after her husband, Thomas, accidentally showed the vampire a photograph of her.
4 Who’s in the Cast of ‘Nosferatu’?
The notorious Count Orlok will be played by Bill Skarsgård. This isn’t the first time Eggers has worked with one of the famous Skarsgårds, as his most recent film The Northman starred Bill’s older brother, Alexander Skarsgård. Bill was supposed to star in that movie as well but ultimately had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Perhaps best known for his portrayal of the evil dancing clown “Pennywise” in the recent IT films, Bill Skarsgård is also known for his roles in the acclaimed gruesome horror film, Barbarian, and the action sequel John Wick: Chapter 4.
In an interview, Skarsgård hinted that he won’t be recognizable as the character, as well as talking about the vampire’s sex appeal, saying:
“He’s gross. But
it is very sexualized
. It’s playing with a sexual fetish about the power of the monster and what that appeal has to you. Hopefully, you’ll get
a little bit attracted by it and disgusted by your attraction
at the same time.”
Skarsgård was initially up for the role of Thomas Hutter, and begged Eggers to let him be a part of the movie, even sending him a lengthy email the created a backstory for the character. He said:
“I think the title was like
Wisborg in Flames
or something.
I was just desperate to rekindle this thing and be a part of it
.”
Also joining the cast are Eggers alumni, Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson. Dafoe co-starred in Eggers’ 2019 film The Lighthouse along with Robert Pattinson and has most recently been seen in Inside. He will be playing a character named Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a character that did not exist in the original Nosferatu. Ineson, who played the hypocritical and pious father in The VVitch, will play the character Dr. Wilhelm Seivers in the upcoming movie.
Almost as if he didn’t drink his fill of vampire movies with Renfield, Nicholas Hoult will be portraying Thomas Hutter, the main protagonist of Nosferatu. No stranger to genre fare, Hoult has also starred in the horror-comedy Warm Bodies, fought alongside the X-Men in X-Men: First Class and its sequels, and ate less than he desired and more than he deserved in the dark satire film, The Menu. Pop star Harry Styles was initially eyed for the role before Hoult was eventually cast.
Playing his wife, the lovely Ellen Hutter, will be Lily-Rose Depp. Depp is still building her acting career with roles in The King and Silent Night and starred in Sam Levinson‘s controversial HBO series, The Idol. Before Depp was cast, Anya Taylor-Joy, who worked with Eggers on The VVitch and The Northman, was attached to the role.
Additionally, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) and Emma Corrin (The Crown) will play Friedrich and Anna Harding, respectively. Herr Knock, who is Thomas Hutter’s employer, will be played by Simon McBurney, who is best known for his roles in The Conjuring 2 and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
3 What Is ‘Nosferatu’ About?
As a remake of a film that’s been around for just over a century, the plot is no mystery. As the original was directly inspired by Stoker’s novel, the creators made slight changes to names and locations in an attempt to avoid copyright infringement and appeal to a German audience. In spite of the alterations to the character names and setting, Stoker’s heirs fought against the unauthorized use of the Dracula story and a court ruling ordered all existing copies of the film to be destroyed. Several copies of the film survived, and have since been digitalized, cementing the movie as one of the most influential cinematic masterpieces and the defining horror movie of its time. Here’s a brief synopsis of the plot for Nosferatu:
Set in the 1800s, this gothic tale of obsession, love, seduction, and fear follows a young man named Thomas Hutter who is sent by his employer to the castle of Count Orlok (a.k.a. “Dracula”). He is there to assist with the paperwork for Orlok’s purchase of a new house, which happens to be right next to Hutter’s own home. While staying there, he begins to suspect that Orlok might be a vampire, based on the reaction of the townspeople when he mentioned Orlok’s name, as well as some other blood-related incidents. Before he is able to flee, Count Orlok sees a photograph of Hutter’s wife, Ellen, and remarks upon her beauty, specifically the beauty of her neckline. After reading a book about vampires, Ellen learns that the only way to defeat him is to have a “pure-hearted” woman willingly offer her blood to him.
Will the remake stay true to the original storyline, or will Eggers make more changes? Only time will tell, but the one thing we know for sure is that he does not pull his punches when it comes to dark themes and historical period-piece movies. Just ask the seagull from The Lighthouse.
The official plot synopsis for the film reads:
Robert Eggers’
Nosferatu
is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
2 Who Is Making ‘Nosferatu’?
As previously stated, Robert Eggers will be writing and directing this new take on Nosferatu. This will mark Eggers’ fourth film as a filmmaker after rising to fame with his A24 horror movies The VVitch and The Lighthouse and dipping his toes into big-budget filmmaking with The Northman.
Eggers will also be producing the film alongside Chris Columbus (Home Alone), Eleanor Columbus (The VVitch), John Graham (Air), and Jeff Robinov (Air). Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Jarin Blaschke (The Lighthouse) will serve as the film’s DP, with Louise Ford (The Northman) serving as the editor, and Robin Carolan (The Northman) composing the score.
1 When and Where Is ‘Nosferatu’ Filming?
Filming on Nosferatu started in Prague in March 2023, at the historic landmark known as Invalidovna (which has been featured in other major motion pictures such as Amadeus and 2004’s Hellboy). The Northman‘s Jarin Blaschke is the cinematographer with Regency Enterprises, Studio 8, and 1492 Pictures producing. As per the latest update, Nosferatu wrapped filming on May 29, 2023.
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