Released in 1922, F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu is often considered not only one of the best horror movies of all time, but also one of the most influential (and controversial) cinema classics to ever hit the big screen. The unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which made some key but not too subtle changes to the source material in an attempt to avoid paying royalties, has spent the vast majority of its existence in the public domain. But unlike Night of the Living Dead, another horror classic with copyright issues, which has been remade countless times over the years, there have only been a couple of retellings of the frightening story over the past century. That, however, will soon change.
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Before the end of the 2024 movie schedule, Robert Eggers, the visionary director behind modern horror classics like The Witch and The Lighthouse, will turn his attention to Nosferatu in a star-studded affair that will cross off a major item on the filmmaker's bucket list. Here is everything we know about the Nosferatu remake…
What Is The Nosferatu Release Date?
Those who have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu won’t have to wait all that much longer as Focus Features, the studio behind the long-in-the-works remake, has announced a December 25, 2024 release date. Talk about a great, and terrifying, way to spend Christmas with those horror hounds in your family.
The Nosferatu Cast Includes Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp, And Willem Dafoe
The original Nosferatu featured an unforgettable performance by Max Schreck as the terrifying Count Orlock, a role that saw the German actor transform into a silent, deadly, and eerie vampire. This time around, Bill Skarsgård will be leading the cast, which also includes Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and numerous other major stars. Let’s break it down now…
Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok
With his iconic portrayal of Pennywise in IT, Bill Skarsgård announced himself to the world as one of the best actors in the horror game, and now he’ll try to do it again when he plays Count Orlok, the vampire at the heart of Nosferatu. According to comments made by Robert Eggers to Total Film (via GamesRadar), Skarsgård lost a lot of weight and transformed himself into the character when preparing for the role.
Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter
Lily-Rose Depp will be taking on the role of Ellen Hutter, the object of Count Orlok’s desires and the reason everything goes downhill in Nosferatu. The role was originally supposed to be played by Anya Taylor-Joy but the actress dropped out several years ago.
Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz
Willem Dafoe, who played a version of Max Schreck in the 2000 meta-horror film Shadow of the Vampire, will appear in Nosferatu as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a vampire hunter who attempts to stop Count Orlok’s plan.
Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter
Nicholas Hoult will appear in the upcoming horror remake as Thomas Hutter, Ellen’s husband and one of the men who tries to stop the vampire from claiming his next victim. This will be Hoult’s second vampire-centric movie in recent years, as he previously played Count Dracula’s devoted servant in Renfield.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding
Less than two weeks after he appears in the long-awaited Kraven the Hunter, Aaron Taylor-Johnson will show up in Robert Eggers’ horror film as Friedrich Harding, a friend of Thomas Hutter. The director told EW in December 2023 that this version will be more fleshed out than the character seen in the 1922 original.
Emma Corrin as Anna Harding
Emma Corrin will take on the role of Anna Harding, Friedrich’s wife, in Nosferatu. Not much is known about the character, but the couple’s relationship will be a major part of the story based on Eggers’ EW comments.
Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers
Ralph Ineson, who previously worked with Eggers on The Witch and The Northman, will show up in Nosferatu as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, a character the director described to EW as a the “Watson to Willem Dafoe’s Holmes.”
Simon McBurney as Herr Knock
Simon McBurney, best known from performances like Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Director Atlee in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, will show up in the new horror remake as Herr Knock, one of the secondary antagonists from the original film.
The Nosferatu Remake Will Follow A Young Woman As She Is Targeted By A Vampire
Though a lot of the finer plot points haven’t been revealed ahead of Nosferatu’s release, Focus Features has provided a brief synopsis for Robert Eggers’ horror remake. The movie, described as a gothic tale of obsession, will follow a young woman (played by Lily Rose-Depp) as she is targeted by a terrifying vampire infatuated with her. This, as seen with other films inspired by Dracula, will lead to untold horrors for the woman and everyone around her.
The Nosferatu Remake Will Follow A Young Woman As She Is Targeted By A Vampire
The original Nosferatu, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel and an early example of German Expressionism, according to Britannica. Though there were several changes made to the story – the vampire was named Count Orlock, he wasn’t charming as depicted in the novel, and he could only be killed by being exposed to sunlight – the movie’s producers were sued by Stoker’s estate in a case that would nearly result in Nosferatu disappearing completely.
When Can We Expect The Nosferatu Trailer?
After Robert Eggers released a photo of Willem Dafoe in his upcoming horror remake back in December 2023, many thought it wouldn’t be all that much longer before we got to see a trailer. Several months have passed at the time of this writing and we still haven’t seen any footage. However, it’s not because footage doesn’t exist or anything like that, as Focus Features shared a montage of clips at CinemaCon 2024, per CinemaBlend’s live blog of the Universal panel.
The footage, seen by our own Sean O’Connell, was light on plot details but reportedly set the mood and tone of the vampire movie that looks both “brooding and violent.” We don’t know if the public will get to see that footage before release, but a trailer should be coming out in a matter of months or weeks.
The Nosferatu Remake Has Been In The Works For Nearly A Decade
Robert Eggers, who told Collider in 2015 that he was “obsessed” with the original Nosferatu since he was a kid, has been working on bringing the movie to life for the better part of a decade.
In July 2015, Variety announced that the filmmaker, whose feature film debut, The Witch, had opened at Sundance only a few months earlier, had been tasked with writing and directing the remake. Despite going on to work on movies like The Lighthouse and The Northman in the years since the horror remake’s original announcement, it appears as if Count Orlok has continued to lurk in the shadows of the filmmaker’s mind, as the project is finally coming to fruition.
Production Wrapped In 2023
We shouldn’t have to worry about production delays holding Nosferatu back from its Christmas Day release, as principal photography wrapped over a year ago. In May 2023, Prague Reporter published an article stating that the shoot in the Czech Republic capital city had wrapped a little less than three months after it kicked off.
Now, there was surely a great deal of post-production work that needed to be completed, or still needs to be finished, but that should be completed relatively soon, opening the door for a trailer reveal.
What Is Nosferatu’s Rating?
There has been no official word on Nosferatu’s rating, but there are a number of factors that can help us speculate how things will turn out. All of Robert Eggers’ previous films – The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman – were Rated R at the time of their respective releases. Combine that with the violent and bloody nature of vampire movies and you have a recipe for a film with a more restrictive rating.
There is still some time before we will get to see Robert Eggers’ version of Nosferatu, but there are plenty of other upcoming horror movies to hold us over in the meantime.
