Willem Dafoe Shares His First Reaction to Robert Eggers’ Werwulf

Willem Dafoe has watched the final cut of Robert Eggers’ Werwulf and praised the film. Dafoe is playing the role of an old hunter and describes the movie as “dark,” “unnerving,” “impressive,” and “beautiful.”

In a recent interview, Dafoe said Werwulf is not a traditional horror film and continues Eggers’ distinctive filmmaking style. Dafoe believes Eggers keeps getting better with each film. He also praised Eggers’ ability to create immersive, complete worlds, recalling his experience watching The Witch.

Dafoe said, “I adore working with him. I really enjoy it. It’s dark. It’s unnerving. It’s not a traditional horror film. It’s a continuation of his work. He gets better and better. I think it’s—yeah, I don’t know. I don’t want to get into spoiler territory. It’s impressive. It’s beautiful.”

Dafoe added, “When I saw The Witch, I’ve said this before, but it really stayed with me. I entered that world so easily. It was my world. It was so complete. Nothing was there just for show. Everything functioned. Everything had a place.”

According to Dafoe, every detail in Eggers’ period films serves a purpose rather than simply showing off the historical setting. He also said that Werwulf avoids familiar horror tropes and traditional werewolf storylines. He described Werwulf as a “beautiful and powerful film.”

Dafoe added, “He’s very good at creating a world that you can enter. Some people, when they make period films, point things out. They’re always showing off, saying, ‘Oh, this is old-timey,’ or something like that. But he really sinks into these worlds. I think Werwulf is really interesting, and it doesn’t lean into the normal tropes or traditional werewolf stories. So, don’t let the title Werwulf throw you off.”

Dafoe ended his comments by saying, “I’ve got to be careful about spoilers, but I’m very excited. I’ve seen it, and I like it a great deal. There, I’ve just broken my rule. I’m judging my own work, but I also want to get people excited about it because I think it’s quite a beautiful and powerful film.”

Robert Eggers Reveals the Real-Life Inspiration Behind Willem Dafoe’s Werwulf Character

Robert Eggers revealed during a Q&A at Beyond Fest 2026 at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles that Dafoe’s character in Werwulf is based on a real-life wolf hunter from 14th-century England.

“He did such a good job [killing wolves] that in 200 years, there were no wolves in England.”

“You guys don’t know that Willem’s character has the correct amount of buttons… but you might notice he’s the only person who has buttons because he’s the only person who can afford them,” said Eggers.

Werwulf is directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the script with Sjón. Eggers has described the film as the darkest he has ever written, “by far,” and shot it in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Set in 13th-century England, the werewolf horror film follows townspeople as they investigate a brutal creature terrorizing their town. The film also features period-accurate dialogue.

The cast of Werwulf includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the Man, Lily-Rose Depp as the Woman, Willem Dafoe as the Old Hunter, Ralph Ineson as One-Eyed, Jack Morris as the Young Hunter, Ned Dennehy as the Friar, Bodhi Rae Breathnach as the farmer’s daughter, Hector Byker as the farmer’s son, Valeriia Karaman as a feral woman, Jan Bijvoet, Ritchi Edwards, Hannah Harpin, and Kate Dickie.

Focus Features will release Werwulf in the United States on December 25, 2026, while Universal Pictures will release the film in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2027.