The key facts
- Eggers showed the opening of 'Werwulf' in Lyon — the werewolf transformation is described as more visceral than in previous werewolf films
- The director says 'Werwulf' can be understood without sound: the story is told through images, with dialogue in Middle English
- Eggers called the rumor of a black-and-white 1930s 'Batman' an internet rumor and said he will not make a comic book film
Masterclass in Lyon and a worldwide exclusive
The honorary guest of the Lumière Festival was American director Robert Eggers, author of 'The Witch', 'The Lighthouse', and 'Nosferatu'. On the eve of the release of his new film — the werewolf horror 'Werwulf', set in 14th-century England — he met with the public in Lyon. Audiences were shown a worldwide exclusive: the opening of 'Werwulf'; before the screening, Eggers warned that color grading was still ongoing and he was refining certain elements. According to Euronews, there was no time for questions about the director's next project — an adaptation of 'Romeo and Juliet' — and audiences were given little speaking time; the outlet calls this a chronic problem of the festival.
The first scenes of 'Werwulf'
The film begins with a howl in the darkness, followed by the first — according to Eggers, far from the last — transformation: vomiting, screams, convulsions, the cracking of bones. Euronews describes the scene as significantly more physiological than the transformations in previous werewolf films. Audiences barely saw the creature's final form, but they did see the aftermath — dead livestock. Then the bloodied hero in human form (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) knocks on a door, where he is met in an unconventional manner by a disfigured woman (Lily-Rose Depp); in the outlet's view, this indicates that Eggers is exploring the intersection of violence, the animal nature, and sexuality. Willem Dafoe also appears in the film.
On silent cinema, language, and eyes
Eggers said he adores silent cinema: in his words, with the arrival of sound, storytelling through imagery gave way to dialogue, though there were exceptions — for example, Fritz Lang. He believes that with 'Werwulf' he has achieved a film that can be watched without sound and still have the plot understood; the film is voiced in Middle English, but, according to the director, viewers do not necessarily need to make out the lines. On the recurring motif of women's eyes, he said that 'the eyes are the mirror of the soul' and noted the large eyes of Anya Taylor-Joy and Lily-Rose Depp; he tapes a small piece of tape near the lens so that actors look into the camera, and he references Elem Klimov's 'Come and See'. Language, in his words, shapes thought, which is why it is very precise in all his films.
On the past, night, and monsters
Eggers explained his attraction to historical subjects by the desire to recreate not only the material but also the inner world of an era — this, in his opinion, helps us understand who we are today. He 'hates' night shoots, but for films about vampires and werewolves there is no choice; he admitted he does not like the ending of 'Nosferatu' and referenced Ridley Scott's 'Alien': bright light kills the monster's illusion. The benchmark of creature creation for him remains the 1979 'Alien' with H. R. Giger's design: the creature has no eyes, and therein lies its power, whereas in werewolf films the eyes often give away the man in the suit. The monster, according to Eggers, always reflects ourselves.
'Batman' and release dates
Responding to an internet rumor about a black-and-white 1930s 'Batman' as a detective story, Eggers said that one can make only a limited number of films in a lifetime, so he will not make a comic book film, although 'if I had an infinite number of projects, it could be fun' — and he joked about a Batmobile in the form of a 1930s Rolls-Royce. The release dates for 'Werwulf' are given in the Euronews piece with a slight discrepancy: in one place — December 25 in the US and Canada and early January 2027 in European cinemas; in another — January 1 in the UK and a week later in continental Europe.
