Robert Eggers is one of the biggest horror directors of his generation, but he will be going in a new direction in an upcoming film. The Oscar-nominated director is set to adapt the classic story of Romeo and Juliet for the big screen as his next feature after his latest film, Werwulf.
The upcoming Shakespeare adaptation will be his first non-horror film since he debuted in 2015 with The Witch, which also introduced a young Anya Taylor-Joy to audiences. An Eggers-directed Romeo and Juliet adaptation might be considered surprising by many due to the change in genre.
It is often considered one of playwright William Shakespeare’s most defining romances, and while the director hasn’t shied away from romance in his films, it is often portrayed peculiarly, to say the least. However, lucky audiences at Los Angeles’ Beyond Fest got to hear from the director why he chose this new project.
Robert Eggers Wanted To Lighten Up After Werwulf
Over the past decade since his debut, Eggers has built a reputation for dark, period-accurate horror-dramas that get under the skin. These films were celebrated at a special marathon at Beyond Fest, which was broken up by a special Q&A session with the director and a first-look preview of Werwulf. During this Q&A, the director was asked about the Romeo and Juliet project, to which he gave a funny answer.
“After Werwulf, I was writing another horror movie, and it got so dark again that I was like, ‘I need a break,’” Eggers said, “So I’ll just do something about two teenagers killing themselves.”
In his answer about his new adaptation, Eggers suggests that there was another horror project that he wanted to work on after Werwulf wrapped, but that it was too dark to proceed with. Given how grim and disturbing Werwulf looks from the footage released so far, and how twisted Nosferatu was, one can only imagine how he can top that darkness with the unknown project, which surely isn’t the Labyrinth sequel.
Romeo and Juliet Is More In-Line For Robert Eggers Than One Would Expect
Over the many centuries since Shakespeare first premiered his famous play, there have been many adaptations and reinterpretations of this love story. However, it isn’t a fairytale love story, even in the most basic of summaries. As Eggers joked at Beyond Fest, the story ends in the tragic double suicide of the teen lovers after a series of misunderstandings.
That is only part of the story as well, as the love story between the two characters has been endlessly recontextualized over the years. Not only does the affair occur over the course of a few days, but scholars have predicted that Romeo would have been approximately 16 or 17, while Juliet would have been around 13 or 14.
Eggers’ penchant for period-accurate depictions of his stories, even at their most discomforting, along with his handling of toxic romance in Nosferatu, makes him the perfect director for a Romeo and Juliet adaptation. The story deserves a director who understands how bizarre and uncomfortable, yet charming at its core, it truly is.
In the meantime, the director’s next film, Werwulf, arrives in theaters on Dec. 25.
- Release Date
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December 25, 2026
- Director
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Robert Eggers
- Writers
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Robert Eggers, Sjón
Cast
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Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Uncredited
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