Countless movies have been delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, including production on Robert Eggers’ The Northman. The director’s follow-up to critical darlings The Witch and The Lighthouse is a 10th-century viking epic that we’re all itching to see. And, in a recent live interview for Film Independent Coffee Talk, Eggers described the sheer size of the project.
“The scale is so huge and there are so many more locations and things that I couldn’t do everything or know every prop myself,” he said. “That’s been a challenge with the new movie.”
The Northman will reunite Eggers with Anya Taylor-Joy, who starred in his searing debut, The Witch. Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Bill Skarsgård, and The Lighthouse’s Willem Dafoe have also been cast in the movie, which will follow a Nordic prince seeking revenge for the murder of his father.
Eggers shared his excitement – and nervousness – about the level of world-building required for The Northman, “We’re designing all these worlds, building these villages, we’re making thousands of costumes and props, training the horses the things they’ll need to do, designing the shots of the films. There’s a lot more storyboarding.”
The filmmaker’s most recent movie, The Lighthouse, was a tight two-handed thriller that offered as many laughs as scares – an unnerving balance Eggers’ has quickly proven himself a master of – and has cemented him as one of the most ambitious directors working in horror right now.
There’s currently no date for when The Northman will resume production in Belfast, Ireland, and no release date has been given. For more cinematic scares, take a look at some more of the best upcoming horror movies of 2020 and beyond.
