A first look image ofNicholas Houltin Robert Eggers' anticipatedNosferatureimagining has been unveiled in the print edition of Empire Magazine. A closer examination of the picture also reveals an out-of-focus reveal of another of the film’s focal characters: Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok. The new image was revealed just days after wefirst saw Lily-Rose Depp’s character. While a complete, clear look at Skarsgård’s Count Orlok has yet to make the rounds, Eggers told Empire that “he looks like a dead Transylvanian nobleman.”
The Focus Features film is slated for release in 2024 and is written and directed by Eggers, who is known for his work on the critically acclaimed films The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman. Alongside Hoult, Skarsgård, and Depp,Nosferatu stars Willem Dafoe (who starred in Eggers’The Lighthouse),Emma Corrin(The Crown),Aaron Taylor-Johnson(Kraven the Hunter),Simon McBurney(The Conjuring 2),and Ralph Ineson(The Witch).
Hoult has several other exciting projects lined up, including James Gunn’sSuperman: Legacy.Before DavidCorenswet was announced as the Man of Steel, Hoult was considered a front-runner to portray the titular character. Although Hoult won’t tackle that role, he has joined thecast as villain Lex Luthor. The film, which also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, is scheduled for a 2025 premiere.
Hoult will also appear in the Chris Pratt-ledGarfield, an animated feature based on the famous comic strip about the orange cat, voicing Garfield’s human, Jon. His other upcoming projects include the crime dramaThe Order, Clint Eastwood’sJuror #2, and the horror filmThe One.
Related:Robert Eggers Is Pushing Himself With His Nosferatu Remake
Robert Eggers Teases A Scary Nosferatu
Given Eggers' praised filmography, expectations for his version ofNosferatuare high. The film is a passion project for Eggers, who has wanted to helm the film since the beginning of his career. Speaking withEmpire, he teases that the film’s horror elements will deliver the scares:
“Yeah, it’s a scary film. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Gothic horror movie. And I do think that there hasn’t been an old-school Gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while. And I think that the majority of audiences will find this one to be the case.”
The original 1922 film, directed by F.W. Murnau, centered on Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim), an estate agent who travels to Transylvania to meet with a new client, Count Orlok (Max Schreck). Count Orlok intends to buy a home close to Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). Things turn towards the macabre when Count Orlok reveals he is a vampire, and his obsession with Ellen proves dangerous.
The silent film is widely considered an unauthorized adaptation of 1897’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Stoker’s estate won a lawsuit against Nosferatu, and although a court mandate sought to destroy all copies of the 1922 film, some prints survived. Nosferatu is considered one ofhorror’s most iconic and influential films. In 1979, Werner Herzog directed an adaptation of the original film, titledNosferatu the Vampyre, which earned critical praise.
An exact release date for Eggers’Nosferatuhas not been announced, but the film is scheduled to premiere in 2024. The film is produced byEggers, Jeff Robinov, and John Graham for Studio 8 and Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus for Maiden Voyage.
