Robert Eggers to Follow ‘Nosferatu’ with ‘Werwulf,’ Focus Features Planning Holiday 2026 Release

Hot off his Dracula feature, Robert Eggers is getting ready to bring the folklore of werewolves to the big screen.

IndieWire has learned that the “Nosferatu” auteur will reunite with Focus Features for his next title, “Werwulf.” The Hollywood Reporter first announced the project, which is described as a werewolf horror movie set in 13th century England. As THR noted, Eggers was originally planning on shooting the feature in black and white, but it now will be in color.

Eggers cowrote the script with his “The Northman” scribe Sjón. Like “Nosferatu,” “Werwulf” will be getting a holiday release; the film is set to premiere Christmas Day 2026.

Focus Features is producing and financing. Both Eggers and Sjón will produce alongside Focus Features, with Maiden Voyage’s Chris and Eleanor Columbus executive producing. Eggers has collaborated with his “Werwulf” executive producers Chris Columbus and his daughter Eleanor’s company, Maiden Voyage, since “The Witch.” Maiden Voyage supports first and second-time filmmakers and joined “The Witch” during post-production; since then, Eggers has credited his longtime collaborator Columbus for influencing his directorial eye.

Eggers and Focus have collaborated on all his films, including the A24 features “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.”

“Nosferatu” has become Focus Features’ second highest grossing movie stateside aside from “Downton Abbey,” with $90.5M in grosses.

Eggers made his directorial debut in 2016 with “The Witch” before directing “The Lighthouse” in 2019, “The Northman” in 2022, and “Nosferatu” in 2024.

“‘The Witch,’ proud of it, but I was frustrated that I wasn’t able to get what was in my head onto the screen. ‘The Lighthouse’ was a perfect stepping stone where I felt like I was able to do that. And ’The Northman,’ because the scope and scale was so massive, it was harder for me to do the same,” Eggers told IndieWire about his career thus far. “It was a beast, a big learning experience, I’ve said this before, after making ‘The Northman,’ I finally felt like I know how to direct a movie, like I’m not trying to convince people that I know how to direct a movie. I’m not someone who has a lot of ideas and just hoping that it’s going to work. That gave me the tools to finally feel confident as a director, so it was nice going into ‘Nosferatu’ with that feeling.”