Willem Dafoe Eyed to Star in ‘Christmas Carol’ Adaptation From ‘Nosferatu’ Director Robert Eggers

Looks like Robert Eggers and Willem Dafoe still have Christmas on the brain.

After the critical and commercial success of Eggers’ Nosferatu last Christmas, which starred Dafoe alongside Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, and Bill Skarsgård as the titular villain, Eggers is running it back with a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol.

Sources tell Deadline that Eggers will write and direct the film for Warner Bros., and that Eggers is writing the main role of Ebenezer Scrooge specifically for his longtime collaborator Willem Dafoe.

Chris Columbus, known for directing Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and the first few Harry Potter films, will produce.

A Christmas Carol was originally published in 1843, and has since become one of the most famous stories ever told. Ebenezer Scrooge, a notorious cheapskate who famously hates Christmas, is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve: the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. The spirits show him many scenes from across his life in an attempt to get him to change his ways.

The story has been adapted countless times across the stage, screen, television and radio, in addition to other unorthodox adaptations like operas, ballets, graphic novels, and video games. It was last adapted for a film in 2022, with Apple TV+’s Spirited starring Ryan Reynolds as Scrooge and Will Ferrell as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Dafoe has starred in all but one of Eggers’ movies—2019’s The Lighthouse, 2022’s The Northman, and 2024’s Nosferatu. Eggers’ next film, Werwulf, will begin filming later this year. No cast has been announced yet, but it’s likely a safe bet that Dafoe will make at least a minor appearance.