A UK casting call has Robert Eggers’ “Werewulf” shooting this September in Elstree, England. The film is currently slated for Christmas 2026 release.
We still have no cast announcements for this one. I gather Willem Dafoe will take part in some way. Regardless, Eggers recently conducted a post-screening Q&A at the Lincoln Center, and described “Werewulf” as “the darkest thing I’ve ever written.”
In “The Witch,” three children—including an infant—are killed. In “The Lighthouse,” madness descends through visions of mermaids, corpse-pecking gulls, and a lonely sailor pleasuring himself. “Nosferatu” centers on a demonic predator obsessed with an innocent woman. And yet, we’re being told “Werewulf” will go even darker?
Most recently, someone on Eggers’ sound team wrote on BlueSky social that he needed a hug after reading the script for “Werewulf.” It sounds like Eggers is once again succumbing to total and utter depravity with this next one.
Eggers penned “Werwulf” with Sjón, who co-wrote” The Northman.” THR’s sources originally reported that the story was set in 13th-century England with dialogue true to the time period, including “translations and annotations for those uninitiated to Old English.” Eggers’ obsession with fairytales, folktales, and mythology — all firmly researched and developed — will likely continue in this next film.
Based on the title, the film will obviously be about a person changed, or who is able to change, into a wolf. THR says that, initially, Eggers was planning to shoot the feature in black and white but decided to scrap that idea.
Eggers is coming off the major success of “Nosferatu,” which was a critical and commercial hit. The film earned $181M worldwide and has turned the filmmaker into Hollywood’s go-to guy for Christmas counterprogramming. No coincidence, he also has a “Christmas Carol” movie in development.