There’s bleak—and then there’s Robert Eggers bleak. “The darkest thing I’ve ever written,” he says, perched somewhere between confession and challenge during a Lincoln Center Q&A. You’d think after “The Witch” (where even babies aren’t safe), “The Lighthouse” (mermaid hallucinations, seagull corpse-mania), and a “Nosferatu” remake that put $181 million (!) on the horror scorecard, we’d know the limits. We don’t. Not yet.
Eggers’ next descent into abyss, “Werewulf,” is officially howling into production this September at Elstree, England. Mark your calendars (in blood, if you must): Christmas 2026 is the release date—Hollywood’s most cheerful season, now co-opted by cinema’s prince of shadow. You can’t make this up.
Still, no full cast. No poster. Rumor—that shadowy, irresistible beast—suggests Willem Dafoe will be leaping into the darkness with Eggers again, but nothing firm there (just the kind of industry “everyone knows, but nobody answers” thing, like a ghost in the walls).
Here’s what is real: Eggers co-wrote “Werewulf” with Sjón, the same Icelandic wordsmith who helped carve out “The Northman”—which means get ready for language so period-authentic it might need footnotes. THR claims the script drags us to 13th-century England, all rotting thatch and howling woods, dialogue so true to Old English your brain will sprain. Translation for the uninitiated, literally.
Oh, there’s more. The production allegedly flirted with black-and-white—imagine the textures, fur and teeth, in egg-shell tones—before (reportedly) ditching the idea. Maybe Eggers isn’t that cruel. Or maybe he is, just in color.
Is it a werewolf movie? Sure. It’s called “Werewulf,” not “Merry Men.” But Eggers never plays straight. If the director’s obsessed with the meat and marrow of fairytales—how they rot, how they bite—what’s waiting for us this time? Total depravity, apparently. (One of his own sound crew begged for a hug after reading the script. Seriously.)
Industry context: “Nosferatu” turned out to be a Christmas monster at the box office, making Eggers the king of the off-beat holiday release. Not a coincidence—word’s out he’s also got a “Christmas Carol” project percolating. Hollywood loves a counterprogramming Santa, especially one who brings talons instead of toys.
If you want mainstream comfort, look elsewhere. If you want art that sneaks up behind you and whispers in Old English? Here’s your feast.
September—Elstree—pale winter light, hungry wolves, and a director starving for something even darker. Should we be worried? Intrigued? Both? I’m ready—sort of.
Just don’t ask for a happy ending.
