Aaron Taylor-Johnson Unleashes a Primal Scream in New ‘Werwulf’ Image

Robert Eggers has made Christmas Day a habit, and ‘Nosferatu’ broke out as a critical and commercial hit with a worldwide gross of around $181M. That success gave the filmmaker plenty of goodwill heading into his next period nightmare. Horror fans have been waiting to see what he does with a monster as old as the genre itself.

His answer is ‘Werwulf’, a medieval creature feature that is set in early-1300s England and tells the story of a town beset by a vicious beast. The script is written in Middle English, co-written with Sjón, whom Eggers worked with on ‘The Northman’. It is the kind of uncompromising approach that has defined the director’s career so far.

Now there is a fresh image to feed the hype. Film news account DiscussingFilm shared a new look at Taylor-Johnson in the movie, pointing to an exclusive from Screen Rant. The image shows the actor screaming animalistically, and Screen Rant’s preview identifies his character as a figure known only, and perhaps deceivingly, as Man.

The still is bleak in the best Eggers tradition. A bearded, wild-haired Taylor-Johnson stands in a drab, rough-spun tunic, mouth wide open in anguish, surrounded by gnarled brush under a flat gray sky. There is no fang, claw, or fur in sight, which makes the raw desperation on his face even more unsettling.

That restraint fits what we already know about the character. Speaking to Esquire, Eggers described the role simply: “He’s a farmer. He’s a man who is cursed.” He added that it is a story about a man trying to find salvation through love.

Taylor-Johnson is not alone in the muck. Willem Dafoe plays a hunter, Lily-Rose Depp plays a farmer’s wife, and Taylor-Johnson stars as the cursed farmer. Dafoe’s hunter is described as ruthless and sent by the king to deal with the wolves, while Ralph Ineson and Katie Dickie also return to the fold.

The film’s look is just as deliberate as its dialogue. Eggers has said they shot on 35mm, with black-and-white grain incorporated into color film to achieve a unique look. Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke is once again playing with light and shadow to craft the film’s chilling images.

The marketing has also leaned into the film’s rawness. Attendees at a recent event watched 20 minutes of the movie and described it as gory, with Taylor-Johnson delivering a grotesque opening scene. That fits the filmmaker’s own description of the project. Eggers has called ‘Werwulf’ the darkest thing he has written.

Production is long finished, and the wait is almost over. ‘Werwulf’ wrapped principal photography in the UK in January and was in post-production ahead of its planned theatrical release. The film is scheduled to open exclusively in theaters on December 25, 2026, and 35mm screenings have been announced for those who want to see it the way it was shot.

For now, this scream is the clearest hint yet of how far Eggers is willing to push his star. If the rest of ‘Werwulf’ matches the intensity of this single frame, the holiday box office may be in for something much darker than the usual Christmas fare.