Director Robert Eggers‘ third feature film “The Northman” releases on April 22 and we’re all dying to see his remake of the classic 1922 silent vampire film “Nosferatu” finally come together after multiple production hiccups. His recent comments to The Guardian suggest that the horror project stumbled after Harry Styles had to back out of the Thomas Hutter role opposite Eggers’ longtime muse Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Witch“). Another possible cast member has entered the conversation and it’s someone familiar to the director.
When a potential reunion with actor Willem Dafoe (“The Lighthouse,” “The Northman”) on “Nosterfatu” was brought up by SlashFilm, the filmmaker got quite animated about the idea, and said he “better damn well be in it.” A potential nod to Dafoe taking on the role of the film’s vampire, Count Orlok.
“‘Nosferatu’ is such an incredibly important film and story for me, so it’s always percolating. If Willem … if ‘Nosferatu’ is made, Willem better damn well be in it because I just love working with him … but, you know, maybe he would play Ellen? Who knows,” Eggers said of a reunion with Dafoe.
It’s worth noting that Dafoe had previously played a version of the same vampire in the horror satire ‘Shadow of The Vampire” in 2000 and certainly would be an excellent casting selection for Orlok.
Eggers had been spending a good amount of time scouting for the film in Prague alongside his loyal cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, even moving their families over there. Something echoed when he mused about the project’s string of bad luck.
“I’ve spent so much time, you know, thinking about it and scouting: it would be a shame if it somehow doesn’t happen. But it seems shocking to me that it’s fallen apart twice already,” Eggers told The Guardian about the potential fate of the remake.
While “Nosferatu” might still get made – we’ll keep our fingers crossed – it’s hard to imagine that anything Eggers tackles won’t be an anticipated film.