After only two movies, The Witch and The Lighthouse, director Robert Eggers has easily reached “We’ll see any movie he makes” status. And with the first trailer for his third film, The Northman, he may have even eclipsed that to “We’ll overanalyze every frame of every bit of marketing until this movie hits theatres” status.
The Northman stars Alexander Skarsgård as a Viking prince forced into exile when his father, the king (Ethan Hawke), is murdered. He spends his life waiting for the right moment to get revenge and, when he meets a cunning woman played by Anya Taylor-Joy (who previously worked with Eggers on The Witch), the time is right. There are huge battles, bigger emotions, and possibly some witchcraft and wizardry along the way, all captured with Eggers’ unmistakably bleak yet beautiful visual style. Check out the first trailer for The Northman.
Come on — how incredible does that look? Not just the story, which has big Conan and Gladiator vibes, or the cast, which is filled with Oscar-calibre talent including Nicole Kidman, Björk, and Willem Dafoe, but just the look of it. It’s very clear that Eggers has been given the biggest palette of his life and he’s using it to the full extent of his powers.
Also among the cast is everyone’s favourite genre saviour, Ralph Ineson, who worked with Eggers on The Witch. When we spoke to the actor earlier this year, he expressed his excitement over the project. “Well, we shot in Belfast mostly all of [2020],” Ineson told Gizmodo. “I came in for just a few days towards the end of the movie. I play a Viking from Ukraine, a Rus’ Viking. I think it’s going to be really stunning. I saw a four-minute little segment that they put together whilst we were out there in Belfast and I kind of walked away with about 10 images burned into my mind. It’s absolutely stunning. Having Rob Eggers and [cinematographer] Jarin Blaschke working together — and Craig Lathrop, a [production] designer they work with — the three of them and the world they created, it’s absolutely immense because obviously, they’re working with hugely bigger budgets than when I worked with them first on The Witch. So, yeah, it’s absolutely stunning to see. And I can’t wait for people to see it. Alexander Skarsgård is amazing in the moments I’ve seen. It’s incredible.”
We can’t wait. The Northman will be out April 22, 2022.
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