Robert Eggers just traded vampires for something far more feral, and the first trailer for Werwulf dropped on June 29, timed deliberately to that night’s full moon. Very on brand.
Set in 13th-century England, the film follows a man known only as “Man” (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), lured into lycanthropy by an ominous elder, now living with his family in a rural community being stalked by an unseen beast. Eggers has called it the darkest script he’s ever written. The tagline- “A harrowing tale of devotion, damnation, and the devil within.”
The trailer doesn’t show you the creature. Instead it gives you fog, body horror, medieval dread, and Taylor-Johnson writhing through what looks like an absolutely brutal transformation. Eggers isn’t tipping his hand, he’s just making you deeply uncomfortable. Mission accomplished.
The cast is stacked with Nosferatu returnees: Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, and newcomer Bodhi Rae Breathnach. Script co-written with Sjón (The Northman), dialogue in authentic Middle English, developed with two Oxford professors, because of course it was.
Werwulf hits US theaters Christmas Day, December 25, via Focus Features. UK gets it January 1, 2027.
