Robert Eggers is back. The man who gave us The VVitch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and Nosferatu has a new nightmare, and the Werwulf trailer just made everyone’s skin crawl. It’s set in 13th-century England. It’s about a werewolf. It’s going to hurt.
The Werwulf trailer shows Aaron Taylor-Johnson going through a transformation that looks genuinely painful. Prosthetic makeup. Decrepit character designs. A set that looks like it could give you the plague. Eggers reunited with his Nosferatu cast, including Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson. Bodhi Rae Breathnach joins the primary cast. The dialogue is in Old English, with translations and annotations for the uninitiated. That’s commitment.
The Werwulf trailer is pure Eggers. Muddy. Costumed. Violent. The synopsis calls it a harrowing tale of devotion, damnation, and the devil within. That’s the pitch. That’s the whole movie. Eggers doesn’t do light. He does dread. He does atmosphere. He does the kind of horror that makes you feel like you need a shower after.
The Werwulf trailer also reveals something interesting. Eggers originally planned to shoot in black and white. That’s no longer the case. The color palette looks desaturated, grim, and beautiful. That’s the Eggers signature. Even when he’s not in black and white, he’s in black and white.
The film hits theaters on Christmas Day 2026. That’s a bizarre release window for a medieval werewolf horror movie, but sure. Why not. Focus Features is distributing. Universal is handling international. There’s also an alternate reality game launching online, because of course there is.
The Werwulf trailer isn’t trying to sell you a fun night at the movies. It’s trying to sell you an ordeal. Eggers doesn’t make crowd-pleasers. He makes films that stick with you. The VVitch made people furious. The Lighthouse made people confused. Nosferatu made people uncomfortable. Werwulf looks like all three at once.
Is anyone ready for this? No. That’s the point. Christmas Day is going to be miserable for anyone who accidentally buys a ticket thinking this is a family movie. It’s not. It’s a werewolf movie in Old English with body horror and a harvest moon. Bring a friend. Bring a barf bag.
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