The latest film from The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman writer/director Robert Eggers is a remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu (watch it HERE), a project that was first announced eight years ago. The film’s 2024 release date hasn’t yet been announced, but the folks at Empire have unveiled a first look image, and you can check that out at the bottom of this article. The image features star Lily-Rose Depp (Yoga Hosers) and the (shadow of the) hand of the vampire Count Orlok, played in this film by Bill Skarsgard (It).
An unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the original Nosferatu has the following synopsis: In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok’s servant, Knock (Alexander Granach), prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.
Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.
When Eggers’ Nosferatu was first announced in 2015, the expectation was that his The Witch star Anya Taylor-Joy would be playing the Ellen role. But Taylor-Joy had trouble fitting the project into her busy schedule, and on two different occasions when Taylor-Joy was available to work on Nosferatu the project ended up falling apart. (Most recently because Harry Styles has been cast as Hutter, then had to drop out.) So Eggers ended up taking the next opportunity to get Nosferatu made, even if it would be without Taylor-Joy. Her role went to Depp.
Depp is joined in the Nosferatu cast by Nicholas Hoult (Renfield), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train), Ralph Ineson (The Witch), Simon McBurney (The Conjuring 2), and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home).
Nosferatu was previously remade by Werner Herzog in 1979, with Klaus Kinski playing the title character. The 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire was a fictional account of the making of Nosferatu, with Willem Dafoe playing Max Schreck as an actual vampire.
Eggers is producing this remake with Jeff Robinson, John Graham, Chris Columbus, and Eleanor Columbus.
Eggers told Empire, “It’s a scary film. 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. It’s even more Ellen’s story than previous versions, and Lily-Rose is absolutely phenomenal. Bill has so transformed, I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just… he’s not there. He felt like honoring who had come before him. It’s all very subtle. But I think the main thing is that he’s even more a folk vampire. In my opinion he looks like a dead Transylvanian nobleman, and in a way that we’ve never actually seen what an actual dead Transylvanian nobleman would look like and be dressed like.“
Are you looking forward to the Nosferatu remake? Let us know by leaving a comment below… but first, take a look at this image:
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