After adapting Viking mythology and a classic vampire tale, Robert Eggers has set his sights on Charles Dickens. IndieWire has confirmed that the “Nosferatu” filmmaker is set to write and direct a new film based on Dickens’ holiday classic “A Christmas Carol” for Warner Bros., with his muse Willem Dafoe eyed to star.
“A Christmas Carol” famously tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter, greedy businessman who is forced to confront his selfish ways after being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. The novel was first published in 1843, and it has been adapted countless times for the stage and screen. Notable adaptations include 1992’s “The Muppets Christmas Carol” and Robert Zemeckis’ 2009 motion capture film “A Christmas Carol.” Beyond the direct adaptations, the book’s structure, in which a character is visited by ghosts of Past, Present, and Future, has been used and parodied in so many different properties that it has become one of the best known plots in all of Western storytelling.
While no details are known about Eggers’ take on the material, it feels safe to speculate that it will be one of the darkest takes on the holiday novel that the world has ever seen.
“A Christmas Carol” joins a crowded slate of upcoming Eggers projects, including the werewolf folk horror film “Werwulf” and a sequel to Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth.” Focus Features has announced a Christmas Day, 2026 release date for “Werwulf” — notably the same day that “Nosferatu” hit theaters before going on to gross $181 million on a $50 million budget. Assuming “A Christmas Carol” also sets a Christmas season release, Eggers could be synonymous with dark holiday counter programming for years to come.
News of Eggers’ “A Christmas Carol” was first reported by Deadline.
