Robert Eggers’ The Northman lands a 2022 release

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

After the haunting slow-burn brilliance of The Witch and The Lighthouse, I'm ready for whatever Robert Eggers wants to unleash upon us, and his latest film seems to be his most ambitious yet.

The Northman is an epic revenge thriller which will explore "how far a Viking prince will go to seek justice for his murdered father," and Focus Features have announced that the film will hit theaters on April 8, 2022. The Northman stars Alexander Skarsgård, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Björk, Claes Bang, Murray McArthur, Kate Dickie, Ralph Ineson, and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. In addition to directing, Robert Eggers also co-wrote the screenplay with Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón.

Ralph Ineson, who also starred in Robert Eggers' The Witch, teased to NME in March that he's already seen a little of what they've shot and was blown away. "It’s an enormous movie," Ineson said. "I saw a four-minute montage of some of the stuff they’d already shot and I was really blown away. The marriage of Rob Eggers’ imagination and Viking folklore… Jesus, man." Ineson also had plenty of praise for Alexander Skarsgård, who apparently will look like an absolute beast in the film. "[There’s] a scene where he beats this guy in a battle; bends down and rips his throat out with his teeth, screams to the gods and he’s got his shirt off – and you think: ‘My god that’s not a bodybuilder doing a scene, that’s like a proper serious actor!" Ineson exclaimed. "He’s made himself look like some kind of monster for the part, the dedication’s incredible. I think it will be a bit of a masterpiece, to be honest." I can't wait.