Over the past decade, Robert Eggers has given audiences some of the best horror movies of all time, with the likes of The Witch and his vampire cliche-breaking Nosferatu. And now, one of the greatest modern filmmakers is making a werewolf movie with Werwulf. Though it’s very early in the film’s development – the project was only announced in January 2025 – the Werwulf release date and other details about Eggers’ fifth movie have already been announced.
That said, as someone who has followed Eggers from the very beginning of his brief yet incredible career up to this point, I have some thoughts about his upcoming horror movie as well as some questions that I need to just talk out. So, stick around if you want to learn more about Werwulf and my thoughts on this exciting project, which I’m sure we’ll be talking about for quite some time.
What We Know About Robert Eggers’ Werwulf
Robert Eggers wasted no time after the box-office success of Nosferatu to get started on his next horror project. In January 2025, The Hollywood Reporter published an article laying out a great number of details about Werwulf, including a release date two years to the day of his gothic vampire thriller. Here’s everything that’s been announced about the movie so far.
- The Werwulf release date is set for December 25, 2026
- The movie is a werewolf horror project set in 13th-century England
- Robert Eggers co-wrote Werwulf with The Northman scribe Sjón
- The script features dialogue true to the time period
- This will be Eggers’ fifth movie released by Focus Features
- Werwulf is one of Eggers’ in-the-works projects
After Seeing How Robert Eggers Retold Nosferatu, I Cannot Wait To See His Vision For A Werewolf Movie
Eggers’ Nosferatu was full of palpable cinematic dread, which made his remake of a more than 100-year-old silent film one of the best vampire movies in recent memory (and perhaps of all time). From scenes of pure horror (even those not involving Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok) to creating an uncomfortable feeling that took longer than expected to shake off, the acclaimed director did a masterful job of bringing the story to life on the big screen.
I cannot wait to see how Eggers brings his vision for a werewolf movie to audiences with Werwulf. Nothing has been announced about the plot, but at this point, I’m down for pretty much anything the director of The Lighthouse and The Northman has to offer. There have been a lot of werewolf movies over the years, but I honestly think Eggers can give us something utterly terrifying and unlike anything we’ve seen before.
I’m Also Eager To See How The Director Recreates 13th-Century England
One of my favorite aspects of Nosferatu, and pretty much every one of Eggers’ films, was the way in which he recreated the eras in which the movie took place. I didn’t feel like I was looking at a set meant to be a recreation of 19th-century Germany and Transylvania, but instead the real thing. His attention to detail and the verticality of his shots created a great sense of place, so much so that the setting almost felt like another character bringing an unrelenting sense of dread.
With the director now turning his attention to 13th-century England, I am eager to see his interpretation of the Middle Ages. The architecture, the fashion, the customs, and the brutality of the era with a werewolf on top of that has the potential to be a feast for the eyes.
I Cannot Wait To See What Eggers Has In Store For Us When It Comes To The Werewolf Design
I really hope that Robert Eggers and Focus Features hold back on showing us what his monster is going to look like in until the movie is released on Christmas Day 2026. Not catching a glimpse of Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlok in Nosferatu until I walked into the theater was one of the most frightening and fulfilling cinematic moments of 2024 for me, and I think holding back on showing the werewolf will be just as beneficial.
However, I cannot wait to see what Eggers has in store for us with the creature’s design. From the original Wolf Man to An American Werewolf in London to Leigh Whannell’s most recent adaptation, werewolves have looked absolutely terrifying on screen, especially with those disturbing yet unskippable transformation scenes. I honestly think with Eggers’ touch, we could have the most disturbing and bloody design of them all.
Robert Eggers Has Used Multiple Aspect Ratios For His Movies. How Will He Present Werwulf?
Throughout his career, Robert Eggers has used various aspect ratios in his films, which adds to the story and tone of each project. For example, he used the 1.66:1 ratio in The Witch and Nosferatu, which gave the films a greater sense of verticality; he went with the more squarish 1.19:1 ratio in The Lighthouse, which added a sense of claustrophobia to the story; and he utilized the wider 2.00:1 format for The Northman and it's more epic scope and scale. Each of these choices impacted both the storytelling and overall feel of the films, and I can’t help but wonder how he’ll proceed with his latest feature film.
I am fully aware that the average moviegoer isn't going to be thinking about aspect ratios going into a movie, but with Eggers’ history of using different formats to better tell his stories, I think it’s something that needs to be brought up. Will he go with something similar to Nosferatu with its sense of the world crashing down on you, The Lighthouse’s cramped feeling, or the more epic look of The Northman? We’ll have to wait and see.
What Does This Mean For Eggers’ Long-Rumored Medieval Drama, The Knight?
Like most filmmakers, Eggers has a lot on his plate (while I was writing this piece, Deadline reported that he’s making a Labyrinth sequel), and Werwulf is just one of the many projects he has in the works. That said, I can’t help but wonder what’s going on with his long-rumored medieval drama, The Knight.
When speaking with IndieWire in December 2024, Eggers said that the movie that has been discussed amongst movie groups on social media for some time now was “on the shelf with a lot of screenplays” and that the project, which has been delayed multiple times, was one “one of five things going on.” As much as I want to see his take on an epic involving knights, I’m not really sure when that’s going to happen. But hey, he worked on Nosferatu on and off for years before it finally came out, so it’s not out of the question.
Expect to hear much more about Werwulf in the coming months. But for now, check out the 2025 movie schedule for all the latest on the big-screen releases coming out this year.
