The Last Time It Fell Apart I Felt It Was Not Going To Ever Happen.’ Robert Eggers Gets Real About Nosferatu Getting Canceled Before It Could Get Off The Ground Many Times

[Anna Kushina (櫛名アンナ)]

This is how a decade-long dream became a holiday season horror hit.

 

 

 

 

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu has become an unexpected holiday season hit as we shift into the 2025 movie release schedule, captivating audiences with its haunting retelling of the vampire myth, embodying counterprogramming at its finest. Featuring an impressive cast, the film reimagines the gothic classic through the horror auteur’s signature moody and atmospheric lens. With rave reviews, including our own glowing Nosferatu review and folks packing theaters, the film has clearly resonated with viewers. However, its journey to the big screen was far from smooth. The Northman creator had dreamed of re-imagining the iconic vampire tale for over a decade, but the project faced repeated setbacks. At one point, the director was convinced it would never happen.

In a recent interview, The Witch filmmaker spoke to Script about his long journey to resurrect Nosferatu. Eggers admitted the road was incredibly challenging for his dream project, taking the better part of a decade to get the movie off the ground finally. He tells the outlet:

" You never know how these things are going to come together but I'd been trying to make this movie for about ten years, and it fell apart a couple of times. The last time it fell apart I felt it was not going to ever happen, and I was OK with that. I thought that maybe I should be making original things only. "

Despite his initial doubts about remaking such an iconic film, the cinematic craftsman revisited the idea after another project failed to gain traction. A conversation with Peter Kujawski at Focus Features proved serendipitous. He continued:

" It's distasteful to do a remake of such a famous thing. It's over. Then I had another script that I took to market, and nobody wanted to make it. I went to Peter Kujawski at Focus Features and said, ‘How about Nosferatu?’ and he said yes. It just happened to be at the right time. So here we go. "

 

Lily Rose-Depp in Nosferatu

Robert Eggers’ take on Nosferatu blends gothic horror with what he describes as “depraved romance and heroic alchemy.” The film stars Bill Skarsgård as the terrifying Count Orlok, a performance that even scared his Nosferatu costars like Nicholas Hoult, with many of them sharing how the character is the scariest thing they've ever seen on or off the screen.

Returning collaborators like cinematographer Jarin Blaschke help bring the gothic revivalist and moviemaker’s vision of 19th-century Germany to life with unbelievable and breathtaking nighttime cinematography. The Lighthouse visionary drew inspiration from both the original film and its creators, delving into the history of director F.W. Murnau and producer Albin Grau, the latter a practicing occultist.

Eggers credits the lessons he learned while directing The Northman. Though Nosferatu came together with a slightly smaller budget, its sprawling narrative and intricate visual design felt like a natural next step for the filmmaker, further enhancing his already impressive storytelling capabilities.

With Nosferatu hitting theaters on December 25, 2024, audiences have been flocking to experience Eggers’ unique vision. For the director, the film represents the culmination of over a decade of effort and meticulous research—a journey that’s undoubtedly both surreal and deeply rewarding. As someone who has seen the movie and considers it one of the best horror movies released in recent memory, I can confidently say his dedication to bringing this haunting project to life was well worth it.