Anya Taylor-Joy Confirms ‘Nosferatu’ Remake Postponed
Robert Eggers’s remake of F.W. Murnau’s incredibly influential expressionist horror Nosferatu has been in the rumour mill for some time. Last August, we discovered that Anya Taylor-Joy (who previously worked with Eggers in The Witch, 2015) was said to be negotiating a starring role in the endeavour, but nothing has come out since. Now, it would appear that the whole thing has been shelved, with Taylor-Joy citing Eggers’s upcoming fantasy-horror The Lighthouse as the reason.
The comments came off the back of promotional activity for Thoroughbreds, a black comedy thriller starring Olivia Cooke, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks, Francie Swift and Taylor-Joy, who told EW:
“Right now, Robert is making The Lighthouse, which I could not be more proud of and more excited for … He’s such a brilliant man – other than being a wonderful human being, he’s such a brilliant director. So, hopefully, we will get a chance to make [Nosferatu]”
Nosferatu (1922)
Egger’s new film is still in pre-production stages and has a release date of 2019, so we can’t expect him to go back to Nosferatu anytime soon – and he might not at all if he doesn’t feel up to it. In a 2016 interview with IndieWire, the director said:
“It feels ugly and blasphemous and egomaniacal and disgusting for a filmmaker in my place to do Nosferatu next. I was really planning on waiting a while, but that’s how fate shook out.”
This might suggest that his commitment to the film is not absolute, nor is his confidence (and ability) to deliver a faithful reproduction. If true, it’s refreshing to see a director admit such reservations.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror was released in 1922 and was an unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, released a mere 25 years before. The film’s legacy is outstanding and overwhelming positive; it’s largely considered a masterpiece of the silent era. As critic Roger Ebert once eloquently put it: “the film is in awe of its material… it doesn’t scare us, but it haunts us”.