‘Nosferatu’, starring Bill Skarsgård and Willem Dafoe, kicks off Prague shoot

Prague production has officially begun on Nosferatu, as cameras began rolling on the vampire film from director Robert Eggers in the Czech capital last week. The filmmaker has been working on the project for seven years after originally intending to make the film directly following his 2015 breakout hit The Witch.

Bill Skarsgård will star as Nosferatu’s featured vampire Count Orlok, played by Max Schreck in the original 1922 film and Klaus Kinski in the 1979 version. Skarsgård is making a habit of filming in Prague; he previously starred as Eric Draven in the new version of The Crow, which shot in the Czech capital last summer. His brother Alexander Skarsgård starred in director Eggers’ previous film, The Northman.

Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny Depp) will co-star in Nosferatu as the object of the vampire’s affections, with Nicholas Hoult portraying her character’s husband and Orlok’s real estate agent.

New cast members have also been revealed in recent weeks, and include frequent Eggers collaborator Willem Dafoe. Dafoe actually played Max Schreck during the making of Nosferatu in the 2000 film Shadow of a Vampire, which was shot in Slovakia. Dafoe’s role in the new version of Nosferatu has not been specified; he could potentially be starring as Professor Bulwer, the original film’s version of Dracula‘s Professor Van Helsing.

Emma Corrin, who recently starred as Princess Diana in the Netflix series The Crown, has also joined Nosferatu’s cast in an unspecified role.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has also been rumored to be joining the cast of Nosferatu, but this has yet to be officially confirmed. Frequent Eggers collaborator Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Northman) is also rumored to be starring.

Stillking Films is coordinating the local production of Nosferatu. Additional Czech locations for the project outside of Prague, which might stand in for gothic Transylvania, have yet to be reveled. Previous versions of Nosferatu have shot at Pernštejn Castle in South Moravia (for the 1979 version) and the Vrátna Valley, Dolný Kubín, and Orava Castle in Slovakia (1922 version).

While Nosferatu will primarily be filmed in the Czech Republic, some exterior shots will be captured in Romania.

Nosferatu cinematographer Jarin Blaschke actually lives in Prague, and he and Eggers have been scouting Czech locations for awhile. Last October, the duo gave a masterclass at Prague’s Bio Oko, followed by another at Studio FAMU this January.

Blaschke also shot The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman for Eggers, as well as the recent thriller Knock at the Cabin for director M. Night Shyamalan. According to Blaschke, the new version of Nosferatu will be shot on film and in color.

Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu is produced by Focus Features, with Jeff Robinov, John Graham, Robert Eggers, Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus serving among the film’s producers. Look for it to debut in 2024.

Lead photo: Bill Skarsgård in The Devil All the Time / Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse