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Willem Dafoe reuniting with 'The Northman' director Robert Eggers for 'Nosferatu' remake
The casting news comes over two decades after Dafoe scored an Oscar nod for his role in Shadow of the Vampire, which depicted the making of the original Nosferatu.
In 2000, Willem Dafoe received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (the second of his career) for his committed performance as actor Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire, which depicted the making of the first vampire movie in history — Nosferatu.
Now, more than two decades later, Dafoe will once again reacquaint himself with the 1922 classic via Robert Eggers' upcoming remake at Focus Features, Deadline confirmed this week. The two previously collaborated on The Lighthouse and The Northman.
"It’s a masterpiece and it really doesn’t objectively need to be done, but I’ve been obsessed with that film since I was a little kid," Eggers stated during an interview with Collider in 2016. "But, you know, Peter Jackson was obsessed with King Kong and we saw how that turned out."
"Even though it's someone else's source material, it's maybe my most personal movie yet," he added this year. "I directed a stage play with my friend Ashley Kelly Tata, who is now an experimental opera director. We did a stage play of Nosferatu when I was like 17. I've had various scripts and versions of Nosferatu since I was 17 and I'm now 39. So it's been a long time coming."
The supernatural horror project currently has Lily-Rose Depp (Voyagers), Bill Skarsgard (Barbarian), and Nicholas Hoult (The Menu) on board as principal cast members. Eggers is writing the screenplay and will produce alongside Jeff Robinov (Alpha), John Graham (Hypnotic), Chris Columbus (Harry Potter), and Eleanor Columbus (The Lighthouse).
Set in 19th century Germany, the film will center around a young woman (Depp), who finds herself stalked by a horrific bloodsucker from Transylvania (Skarsgard). Details on Hoult and Dafoe's characters are still asleep in their coffin. By the time cameras get rolling, however, Hoult will be a vampire pro, having played Dracula's assistant in Renfield (in theaters April 14).
"I'm a fan of the original film but also I know [Eggers has] wanted to make the movie since he was eight years old, so I'm excited to see what he brings to that story and I hope I can serve it in a good way," the actor told People back in November.
Need more blood-sucking drama in your life? The first season of Vampire Academy is now streaming on Peacock.
