We’re not sure how many filmmakers we would have had to name before we landed on “Nosferatu” and “Werwulf” director Robert Eggers as the most likely person to direct another adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” but given his attention to period detail, we can maybe squint and see it.
Eggers will be directing and producing a new take on “Romeo and Juliet” for Focus Features, which a source says is closing in on a deal to distribute the film. Should a deal close, it will keep Eggers in the Focus family yet again, as all of his movies have been released by the label in one form or another. Focus itself distributed “The Northman,” “Nosferatu,” and the upcoming “Werwulf” domestically, and it released his debut “The Witch” and follow-up “The Lighthouse” internationally.
Unsurprisingly given Eggers’ filmography, the adaptation is expected to be period appropriate — anyone hoping for a modern-day, Baz Luhrmann twist on the Shakespearean tragedy should look elsewhere. No other producers or details were immediately disclosed.
If “Romeo and Juliet” ends up being Eggers’ next project, it will presumably mean that other planned films like his “Labyrinth” sequel and his take on “A Christmas Carol” will be placed on the back burner.
While there have been countless adaptations of the Montague and Capulet romantic tragedy, Luhrmann’s from 1996 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes might be the most recognizable to modern studio audiences, having grossed $147 million worldwide at the box office.
“Werwulf” stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, and Lily-Rose Depp in another intense, visually arresting period, folk horror film that Focus hopes has the same level of success that “Nosferatu” did back in Christmas 2024 when it made $181 million worldwide. Eggers collaborated on “Werwulf” with the Icelandic poet Sjón on this film, a reunion after the two worked together on “The Northman.”
THR first reported the news of the project.
