Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ Remake Lives, Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp to Star
Robert Eggers’ long-gestating Nosferatu remake seems to finally be picking up steam as the project has locked Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp to star.
Deadline dropped the news on Friday, essentially confirming the (second) resurrection of Eggers’ dream project, which had been dormant for a while, according to the director during the promotion for The Northman earlier this year. While it was never officially shelved, he seemed pretty pessimistic about its chances despite nabbing Anya Taylor-Joy last year after another period of uncertainty.
Even though Eggers has put out nothing but fantastic work ever since 2015’s The Witch, the Nosferatu remake has been an on-and-off project for far too long. Perhaps what finally pushed the film forward was the (delayed) success of The Northman thanks to PVOD and streaming after a poor theatrical run in spite of the highly positive critical reception, as Universal Pictures’ Focus Features division will now handle the remake.
According to Deadline, Eggers began exploring other projects after The Northman, but “always had his eye on coming back to the gothic tale.” With Focus coming aboard, he officially made Nosferatu his next film and began meeting with talent. Bill Skarsgård had been circling the film for a good while, so Eggers quickly jumped on him to slot the pic into his busy schedule. Unsurprisingly, he will be playing the titular vampire after he terrified audiences worldwide with his take on Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the recent 2017-2019 It two-parter.
Anya Taylor-Joy has become one of the busiest movie stars in town — now shooting Max Mad: Fury Road spinoff prequel Furiosa — and was unable to fit the film into her schedule, leaving an opening for the role of the female protagonist. Following a number of meetings, Lily-Rose Depp (Yoga Hosers, The King) emerged as Eggers’ top choice for the part.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
