Robert Eggers has unleashed the hound Werwulf.
The filmmaker’s latest foray into atmospheric period horror is a spin on the classic Universal creature feature, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular lycanthrope. A new trailer released Saturday — in time for the harvest moon — offers the best look yet at the world Werwulf, a painstakingly recreated 1300s England, where a seasoned hunter (Willem Dafoe) is dispatched by the king seeks to track down the titular beast. Watch:
While the two-and-a-half-minute clip doesn’t depict a full-on transformation — a hallmark of all classic werewolf cinema beginning with Lon Chaney Jr.’s genre-defining The Wolf Man in 1941 — the preview does indicate that the movie will be suffused with the same shadowy cinematography and tactile period production design and costumes that distinguished the elevated horror of Eggers’ previous features, including The Witch, The Northman, and last year’s Oscar-nominated Nosferatu.
The plot
The story is set the remote 14th century English countryside and follows a character identified only as “Man” (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who we learn through flashbacks was lured into lycanthropy by an ominous elder. In the film’s present, he has a family who lives in an appropriately eerie community plagued by an unseen monster. As the studio teases in its one-line synopsis: “Witness Robert Eggers’ most visceral and haunting experience yet. Focus Features presents Werwulf, a harrowing tale of devotion, damnation and the devil within.”
The taglines are: “Thy soule is cursid” and “Devoureth all mankynde.”
The cast
In addition to Taylor-Johnson, the ensemble includes fellow Eggers’ regulars Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson.
The creatives
Eggers directs from a script he co-wrote with Icelandic poet and author Sjón. The two previously collaborated on The Northman.
Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, editor Louise Ford, production designer Craig Lathrop, and costume designer Linda Muir — who have worked on every Eggers feature, beginning with The Witch — are also back, ensuring the appropriately creepy period vibe.
Eggers, Sjón, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Garrett Bird are the producers; Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, and Bernard Bellew executive-produced.
The production
Development on Werwulf was announced in January 2025, as Nosferatu was on its way to becoming Eggers’ biggest film to date. He described the screenplay his “darkest” yet, incorporating authentic Middle English dialogue with the aid of two Oxford scholars.
Filming began in September 2025 at Sky Studios Elstree in England, with additional location shooting across the U.K. Werwulf wrapped in January 2026.
The first footage was unveiled during CinemaCon 2026, where it was billed as Eggers’ “most horrifying motion picture yet.”
The first preview was released on June 29. Watch below:
Release date
Focus Films will release Werwulf in the United States on Dec. 25, 2026.
Oscar chances
With Werwulf sticking to the Nosferatu playbook — with many of the cast and virtually all the key crew returning and targeting a Christmas Day release — the new film could very easily repeat its predecessor’s Academy Award achievements and score nominations for cinematography, production design, makeup and hair, and costumes.
This story was originally published June 29 and updated Sept. 26 with the second trailer and additional details.
