Dark and gritty remakes are always fun, even if they aren’t fun to watch. Movies can turn Barbie into a tale of existential crisis and misogyny, Cruella de Vil into a punk rock fashion designer with dalmatian-based trauma, and Batman into an eyeliner-wearing Nirvana fan. Now, a horror director known for stories set in the past is taking on a classic 19th-century ghost story that’s perfect for a grim take, even if you probably know it best thanks to the Muppets.
Deadline reports that Robert Eggers, the director of The Witch and The Northman, is going to revisit the Victorian gothic setting of Nosferatu for a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 story A Christmas Carol. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s haunting has become a seasonal classic adapted to film countless times, dating back to a 1910 silent short. The most notable adaptations include 1938’s A Christmas Carol, starring Reginald Owen, 2009’s animated Christmas Carol starring a motion-captured Jim Carrey, and, of course, 1992’s A Muppet Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine. The less said about the 2022 Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds musical Spirited, meanwhile, the better.
Eggers’ take is likely to be much darker than any of those productions, as all of his films so far have been bleak and horror-tinged. Such concepts are rarely evoked for a story about Christmas spirit, but it is a tale about terrifying ghosts and dying children, so a fresh take could very well be effective. As for Scrooge himself, it’s reported that Robert Eggers’ version will star frequent collaborator Willem Dafoe.
Eggers’ post-Nosferatu dance card is filling up fast. In January, he signed on to write and direct a sequel to Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, and he’s working with Focus Features on Werwulf, a 13th-century-set thriller with dialogue reportedly in time-accurate Middle English. It’s unclear where Christmas Carol would fit into his schedule, but considering Nosferatu and Werwulf are both Christmas releases, Winter 2027 may be a safe bet. That’s a while to wait for Eggers’ unique take on an annual tradition, but after 182 years since Dickens put pen to paper, another few years should be worth it.
