Last Friday, news broke that Robert Eggers’ remake of “Nosferatu” was underway again, with Bill Skarsgard attached to the star. And that’s excellent news, as the film is a passion project for Eggers long in the making. But also announced was Lily-Rose Depp in talks to replace Anya Taylor-Joy as the female lead in the film; not so great news for those who loved Taylor-Joy’s previous work with the director.
Now, Deadline reports that there’s another actor in talks to join the film’s cast, Nicholas Hoult. According to Deadline reporter Justin Kroll, he’ll play the human role that Harry Styles would’ve played when this project was first set up in 2019. Set in 19th-century Germany, the film stars Skarsgard as the titular Transylvanian vampire who stalks Depp, bringing horror and pestilence with him.
Eggers writes and directs the film, a remake of the 1922 German Expressionist classic from F.W. Murnau. The remake was initially supposed to shoot in 2019, with Taylor-Joy and Styles to star, but scheduling conflicts caused Eggers to shelve the film and move on to “The Northman,” his Viking saga that retells the “Hamlet” legend.
Hoult is fresh off an Emmy nomination for his role as Peter the Great in Hulu’s “The Great.” He also stars in the upcoming film “The Menu,” ironically enough with Taylor-Joy, which just had its world premiere at TIFF last month. That film hits theaters in November. Besides reprising his role in “The Great” for that show’s third season next year, he’s also set to star in “Renfield,” Chris McKay’s horror-comedy that centers on Count Dracula’s henchman. In that film, Hoult plays Renfield to Nicolas Cage’s Dracula.
More news on “Nosferatu” will drop soon, but adding Hoult to the cast would be a big win for Eggers. Let’s hope this film gets made this time around.