Willem Dafoe may be teaming with Robert Eggers again. Dafoe, who has starred in three previous films from the director, is in talks to join the cast of Werwulf, Eggers‘ latest chilling tale of period horror. So far, his role and the film’s plot are being kept under wraps, but presumably the film will feature the legendary lycanthropic beast of the title. You’ll be able to find out on December 25, 2026.

As per Deadline, Dafoe is not confirmed for the film yet, but is still in talks. Dafoe joins a cast that will already seem familiar to him, as it already features two cast members of Eggers‘ chilling reimagining of Nosferatu. Aaron Taylor-Johnson will play the lead in the film, while Lily-Rose Depp is, like Dafoe, in talks to join the cast. Details about the movie are being kept under the cloak of darkness, but like all Eggers‘ previous films, it will be set in the past; specifically, the 13th century. The movie’s dialogue will be in period-appropriate Old English, with subtitles for the uninitiated; it will also be filmed in color. Earlier this year, Eggers described the film as “the darkest thing I’ve ever written. By far.”

What Other Robert Eggers Films Has Willem Dafoe Starred In?

While Dafoe does not appear in Eggers‘ directorial debut, The Witch, he has starred in all three of the director’s subsequent films. In 2019’s The Lighthouse, he played Thomas Lake, an ancient mariner who is stationed on an isolated island off the coast of New England, supervising Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson). The two soon descend into madness and mayhem. In Eggers’ follow-up, The Northman, Dafoe plays Heimir the Fool, the court jester of a slain Viking king; years later, his skull is a crucial part of the quest for vengeance the king’s son (Alexander Skarsgård) undertakes. Dafoe returned again for Nosferatu: he played Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, an occult expert derived from Dracula‘s Abraham Van Helsing, who is called upon to help destroy the vampiric Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). He has also been touted to lead Eggers‘ upcoming version of A Christmas Carol.

Dafoe can currently be seen in another frequent collaborator’s new movie: he plays Knave, a heavenly defense attorney in Wes Anderson‘s The Phoenician Scheme. He can next be seen in the period drama Finally Dawn, which will be released in the US this weekend.

Werwulf will be unleashed on theaters on December 25, 2026.

via Collider