Robert Eggers’ Werwulf Trailer Promises a Brutal Medieval Horror Story
Robert Eggers is returning to the dark side of folklore this Christmas, and the first trailer for Werwulf makes the wait feel even harder.
Focus Features has officially released the trailer for Eggers’ next horror film, teasing a grim, blood-soaked story set in 13th-century England. After taking on witches, seafarers, Vikings, and vampires across The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and Nosferatu, the filmmaker is turning his attention to werewolf mythology—and the first footage suggests he is bringing the same unnerving sense of detail, dread, and physical intensity with him.
Werwulf Looks Like Robert Eggers at His Most Relentless Yet
The trailer centers on Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a farmer burdened by a terrifying curse. As the darkness inside him begins to take hold, he searches for salvation through love while his family and village are placed in danger. From there, Werwulf appears to move beyond familiar werewolf mythology, treating the transformation as something spiritual, psychological, and deeply tied to the world around him.
That period setting is already doing a great deal of the work, too. The trailer drops viewers into a harsh medieval landscape shaped by cold rain, firelight, crowded village life, mud, violence, and religious fear. In fact, Eggers has previously described the film’s world as especially brutal, and the footage gives that promise real weight.
Taylor-Johnson leads the film alongside Lily-Rose Depp, who plays his wife and the mother of their children. Willem Dafoe also stars as a hunter, adding another familiar Eggers collaborator to the film’s central conflict. The trio also previously appeared together in Eggers’ Nosferatu, making Werwulf feel like an especially exciting reunion.
Eggers co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón, his collaborator on The Northman. The dialogue is set in Middle English, though the film has been shaped to remain accessible for modern audiences.
Focus Features will release Werwulf exclusively in theaters on December 25, 2026.
