Nosferatu, filmmaker Robert Eggers’ new take on the classic German vampire tale heavily influenced by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, will release on Christmas Day (December 25), 2024, distributor Focus Features has revealed. The film shot on locations in Prague and across the Czech Republic earlier this year.

“The audacious filmmaking of Robert Eggers is always a gift for fans, and we can promise that his Nosferatu is planning quite the Christmas feast,” Focus Features chair Peter Kujawski said through a press statement.

Eggers’ version on Nosferatu was profiled in the latest edition of Empire, where the film revealed its first official image (pictured at top): Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, with the ominous shadow of a vampire’s claw splayed across her face.

“It’s even more Ellen’s story than previous versions,” Eggers told Empire, emphasizing the role of his female protagonist. “And Lily-Rose is absolutely phenomenal.”

In addition to Depp, Nosferatu also stars Nicholas Hoult as Hutter’s husband Thomas, a real estate agent; Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin as their friends the Hardings; Ralph Ineson as a hospital director; Simon McBurney as Thomas’ employer; and Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, the film’s version of Van Helsing.

Bill Skarsgård stars in Nosferatu‘s central role of Count Orlok, the vampire who hires Thomas and subsequently becomes obsessed with his wife. Images of Skarsgård in costume for the film have not been revealed, but Eggers teased his appearance.

“I’ll say that Bill has so transformed, I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just… he’s not there,” Eggers told Empire.

“He felt like honouring who had come before him. It’s all very subtle […] But I think the main thing is that he’s even more a folk vampire. In my opinion he looks like a dead Transylvanian nobleman, and in a way that we’ve never actually seen what an actual dead Transylvanian nobleman would look like and be dressed like.”

In Prague, Nosferatu shot at Prague’s Barrandov Studio alongside locations in the Czech capital and around the country. Filming briefly took place at Prague’s historic Invalidovna complex, an 18th century complex that was used as a military hospital for 200 years. The castle in Rožmitál pod Třemšínem was also utilized for the production.

Along with AMC’s just-wrapped Interview with the Vampire, Nosferatu was one of two major vampire-themed productions to shoot in Prague this year.

Nosferatu has a long history with the Czech lands. F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu was partially shot in the Vrátna Valley, Dolný Kubín, and Orava Castle in what was then Czechoslovakia (currently Slovakia). Portions of Werner Herzog’s 1979 version Nosferatu the Vampyre were also shot in Czechoslovakia, with Pernštejn Castle in South Moravia playing Castle Dracula.

Despite the Christmas release date, Eggers emphasizes the underlying Gothic horror of Nosferatu.

“Yeah, it’s a scary film. It’s a horror movie. It’s a Gothic horror movie,” he says. “And I do think that there hasn’t been an old-school Gothic movie that’s actually scary in a while. And I think that the majority of audiences will find this one to be the case.”

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