Aaron Taylor-Johnson is encouraged to embrace the darkness in the first trailer for “Werwulf,” director Robert Eggers‘ gnarly, pitch-black horror follow-up to his hit 2024 reimagining of “Nosferatu.”
The film marks a reunion between Eggers and Taylor-Johnson, the latter of whom starred in “Nosferatu.” He leads “Werwulf” alongside a handful of other, past Eggers collaborators, including Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp and Ralph Ineson. Eggers co-wrote his new werewolf feature with Icelandic poet and writer Sjón, who also co-penned Eggers’ 2022 Norse action epic “The Northman.”
Together, Eggers and his collaborators, which include returning cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, appear to have delivered one of the darkest and potentially grossest films of the “Lighthouse” filmmaker’s career to date. Full of imagery reminiscent of the Silent Era and enough bone-crunching sound effects to make you squirm just watching it, the “Werwulf” trailer sets it up to be, perhaps, one of this year’s most visceral big-screen horror experiences.
You can check out the teaser yourself below.
Like all of Eggers’ films to date, “Werwulf” is set centuries in the past. Placed in 13th-century England, the film focuses on a cursed farmer (Taylor-Johnson) whose affliction sets the stage for plenty of queasy horror and, according to Focus Features, “a harrowing tale of devotion, damnation and the devil within.”
The new film continues Eggers’ partnership with Focus, following their previous collaborations on both “The Northman” and “Nosferatu.” Like it did with “Nosferatu,” the studio is set to release “Werwulf” on Christmas Day in the States, likely in an attempt to replicate the success of Eggers’ last film, which grossed nearly $182 million at the worldwide box office on a $50 million budget.
Whether or not “Werwulf” will be able to achieve a similar level of financial and critical success as “Nosferatu” remains to be seen. Eggers, however, said in 2025 that “Werwulf” was “the darkest thing I’ve ever written by far,” and the film’s first trailer, at least, positions it to quite easily follow through on that promise.
“Werwulf” is set to hit theaters on Dec. 25.
The post ‘Werwulf’ Trailer: Aaron Taylor-Johnson Goes Gnarly in Robert Eggers’ New Nightmare appeared first on TheWrap.
