Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu – Release date, cast, plot, & more
Focus FeaturesRobert Eggers is back with a brand-new horror film, this time offering fans a terrifying remake of the 1922 vampire film Nosferatu.
When it comes to horror icons, there’s none quite like Dracula. Tales of him have persisted through centuries, terrifying the young and old alike. Nosferatu is one of the earliest, essentially having been an unauthorized film based on Bram Stoker’s classic novel.
The drama of Nosferatu is well-documented and even was the basis for a previously beloved horror film, 2000’s Shadow of the Vampire. Now, Nosferatu is back with a new film from acclaimed director Robert Eggers.
Nosferatu’s star-studded cast promises to end 2024 with a bang for fans of vampire flicks. If you don’t know much about the film, here’s a rundown of everything we know so far.
Nosferatu release date: When is the movie coming out?
Nosferatu will be released by Focus Features on December 25, 2024.
Nosferatu enters a positively stacked December 2024 release schedule that includes the animated LOrd of the Rings spin-off War of the Rohirrim and the recently announced Karate Kid reboot.
More directly, Nosferatu will compete with Mufasa: The Lion King, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, both of which enter theaters five days earlier on December 20.
Nosferatu cast: Who is working on the movie?
The main cast for Nosferatu is as follows:
- Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok
- Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz
- Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Seivers
- Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter
- Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding
- Emma Corrin as Anna Harding
- Simon McBurney as Herr Knock
Nosferatu will be directed by Robert Eggers, who has made a name for himself as a horror icon with films The Witch and the Lighthouse.
Focus FeaturesEggers has been working on Nosferatu for the better part of a decade, with the film first announced in 2015. It was originally to star Anya Taylor-Joy as Ellen Hutter with Bill Skarsgard as Thomas Hutter, but scheduling conflicts and changes in direction prevented that from happening.
According to Skarsgard, he continued to petition Eggers for a role in the project, even after Hoult was cast as Thomas Hutter. Eggers suggested Skarsgard test for Orlok, a role for which they were initially seeking an older actor.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Eggers expressed his surprise at how well Skarsgard took to the role, saying, “Somewhere in that second makeup test, I was like, ‘He’s become the character.’ It was eerie to see in the footage. Anything he did, anywhere he turned or looked, you were like, ‘He’s got it.’”
Nosferatu trailer: Is there a trailer?
The first teaser trailer for Nosferatu is available now, having been released on June 24.
The trailer gives us our first look at the film, which is filled with Eggers’ trademark visual style and dark imagery. Throughout the trailer, we get glimpses of Ellen Hutter in distress and Thomas Hutter exploring a catacomb.
Notably absent from the teaser is Nosferatu himself. We’ve yet to see IT and The Crow star Bill Skarsgård in his full Count Orlok look, only appearing obscured in heavy shadow at the end of the trailer.
The Count Orlok makeup is evidently quite extensive. Skarsgard told Entertainment Weekly that it took 3-6 hours to apply the makeup, plus training with an opera singer to get a deeper voice.
“He’s gross… but it is very sexualized,” Skarsgard said of Orlok. “It’s playing with a sexual fetish about the power of the monster and what that appeal has to you. Hopefully you’ll get a little bit attracted by it and disgusted by your attraction at the same time.”
What’s the Plot of Nosferatu About?
Nosferatu will be based on the 1922 movie of the same name, which itself was an “unauthorized and unofficial” adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
The synopsis for the original is as follows: “In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok summons Thomas Hutter to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen. After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok’s servant, Knock, prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.”
Eggers previously told Empire Magazine that the movie will be both old-school gothic and scary, saying, “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.”
While you wait for Nosferatu to hit theaters, read all about the upcoming Interview with the Vampire Season 2 or the best horror movies coming out this year. You can also find our guides on the best new movies and best TV shows on streaming this month.