Iconic Horror Movie Being Remade, Anya Taylor-Joy to Star

One of the most iconic horror movies ever is getting the remake treatment, and Queen’s Gambit actress Anya Taylor-Joy is set to appear. In a recent Los Angeles Times interview, the film star revealed that she is reteaming with Robert Eggers for his version of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. Eggers wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2015 horror film The Witch, featuring a breakout performance from Taylor-Joy.

Nosferatu is an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula novel and is widely considered to be a true cinematic classic. It was first reported that Eggers would be doing a remake of the film back in 2015, following the critical success of The Witch. At the time he expressed some skepticism over making his second feature film being a remake of an iconic movie but was prepared to move forward anyway. “It feels ugly and blasphemous and egomaniacal and disgusting for a filmmaker in my place to do Nosferatu next,” he said in an interview. “I was really planning on waiting a while, but that’s how fate shook out.”

Ultimately, Eggers ended up setting his Nosferatu remake aside, for the time being and got to work on The Lighthouse. The film is a dark and bizarre tale, set in the late 1800s, of two lighthouse keepers, played by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, who spiral toward insanity while they are stuck together on a remote island. Another critical success for Eggers, The Lighthouse was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Next up, for his third film, Eggers has co-written and directed The Northman. It tells the story of Viking prince Amleth (played by Alexander Skarsgård), who “goes to extreme depths to seek justice for the murder of his father.” The Northman also stars Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, and Björk. It also reteams Eggers with Taylor-Joy and Dafoe, both of whom also appear in the film. It is currently scheduled to be released in April 2022.

While Taylor-Joy’s involvement with Eggers’ Nosferatu remake is the only casting confirmation we’ve heard so far, it would be interesting if Dafoe ended up signing on as well. Back in 2000, Dafoe appeared alongside John Malkovich in Shadow of the Vampire, a fictionalized documentary account of the making of Nosferatu. Dafoe played Max Schreck, the actor who played the Count Dracula-influenced character Count Orlok, and he ended up garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for her performance.