First Official Look at Robert Eggers’ ‘Werwulf’ Unleashes Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Focus Features has officially unveiled the first-ever still from Robert Eggers’ upcoming medieval horror film Werwulf, with Esquire premiering the haunting image featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the film’s mysterious titular creature.

The image doesn’t give much away, but it immediately feels like pure Eggers. Dark, grimy, and soaked in the same atmospheric dread that made The Witch and Nosferatu such unforgettable experiences.

Set in 13th-century England, Werwulf follows a community terrorized by a mysterious creature as folklore begins to manifest into reality. Eggers has previously described the film as “a medieval werewolf movie” and called it “the darkest thing I have ever written. By far.”

As for werewolf tropes, Eggers told Esquire that he’s hit the reset button and didn’t adhere to the tropes of the subgenre.

“Backpedaling away from influences and mythologies that do and don’t have to do with the film, the cool thing about going back into the past is that you can kind of hit a reset button. So, all the clichés of being bitten by a werewolf and silver bullets and a lot of the stuff that has become almost campy doesn’t exist in the mythology of this movie. So you don’t need to have seen Lon Cheney Jr.’s The Wolf Man or An American Werewolf in London to get what’s going on here.”

As for Taylor-Johnson’s character, Eggers says, “He’s a farmer. He’s a man who is cursed. It’s a story about a man who is cursed and is trying to find salvation through love. He’s a character who is haunted and in great pain.”

The film also stars Lily-Rose Depp, who Eggers says “is the heart of the movie.” He continues, “Lily is truly transformative. There’s a very clear physical change in her body and her makeup, but she inhabits a very different person that’s very different from her and very different from any character she’s ever played.”

Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, and Bodhi Rae Breathnach also star.

Werwulf stalks into theaters on Christmas Day. It also marks another holiday horror release for Eggers following the massive success of . Between his meticulous period settings and unmistakable visual style, this already looks like another perfect fit for both the filmmaker and Focus Features’ horror brand.