Bill Skarsgård is poised to take on the part of the deadly Count Orlok, with Lily-Rose Depp as the object of his affection
After transporting audiences to the woods of 17th-century New England in The Witch, a windswept island in the 1890s in The Lighthouse, and the rolling hills of 10th-century Iceland in The Northman, Robert Eggers is heading to Transylvania for his latest atmospheric chiller: Nosferatu, a gothic horror inspired by FW Murnau’s silent classic of the same name about a vampire who travels to Germany in pursuit of a beautiful young woman. Best of all, its cast is to die for.
Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz in Nosferatu. Photo: Aidan Monaghan
On 13 February 2023, Deadline broke the story that Emma Corrin had joined the ensemble in the role of Anna Harding, alongside Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe and Bill Skarsgård. The latter is poised to take on the part of the deadly Count Orlok, with Depp as the object of his affection. More news followed on 3 March: current Bond frontrunner Aaron Taylor-Johnson had come aboard too, as had Simon McBurney and Ralph Ineson.
Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter. . Photo: Aidan Monaghan
The 1922 film opens in the fictional 19th-century German town of Wisborg, where the menacing estate agent Knock is preparing to send an employee, Thomas Hutter, to meet a beguiling new client who lives in a castle deep in the Transylvanian mountains. Upon arrival, Hutter is intrigued and then frightened by Count Orlok’s behaviour: he sleeps by day in a coffin; tries to suck Hutter’s blood after he accidentally cuts his finger; and then catches sight of a photograph of Hutter’s wife, Ellen, with whom he becomes obsessed. Orlok then sails to Wisborg to stalk her, and leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.
Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features
Given that Eggers is both penning and directing the retelling, it’s safe to assume that there’ll be several twists that deviate from the source material, though – considering the auteur’s distinctive, hallucinatory visual style – the imagery in the new release should be just as striking as that in the original. A case in point? The first still, which shows Depp’s Ellen Hutter gasping, with tears in her eyes, as the shadow of a monstrous hand covers her face. More haunting images followed soon after, as did a harrowing first trailer.
Mark your calendars for 3 January 2025, when the film is set to hit the big screen – and brace yourself for more than a few sleepless nights.
Originally published on British Vogue