Robert Eggers is one of the few directors left in Hollywood making a name for themselves under the old auteur model, where people become interested in their movies because they made them, not because they're tied to some already-established IP. Between The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman and now Nosferatu, Eggers has forged his own path and actually succeeded. It's pretty much him and Christopher Nolan holding that particular fort. (Okay, technically Nosferatu is a remake, but the original came out in 1922; you get a pass if you're remaking a movie that's over 100 years old.)
And Eggers will continue to blaze new trails with a new movie called Werwulf. He's already covered witches and vampires, so this seems like the next natural step. But Deadline reports that he's signed on to make a sequel to Labyrinth, the 1986 dark fantasy movie starring Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie, and a bunch of Jim Henson puppets.
The original movie follows a teenager (Connelley) who must descend into a frightening labyrinth in order to rescue her little brother, who has been kidnapped by the singing, dancing goblin king (Bowie). The movie is very much of its time without feeling dated, if that makes sense. It's too weird and singular to get pigeonholed as a relic of the period, even though it has '80s glitz slathered all over it.
If Eggers was merely remaking Labyrinth, I think I'd be more upset with this news; sure, it's an interesting choice for a remake, but I'd hate to lose a filmmaker as original as Eggers to the remake pipeline. It's a little more palatable as a sequel. I can imagine this movie fascinating Eggers as a child much the way the original Nosferatu did, something he talked about on the press trail for his new movie.
We don't know what the sequel might entail. Will Jennifer Connelly return as an adult Sarah Williams, once again menaced by the goblin king Jareth? Or maybe Jareth will go after someone new. Either way, I think everyone is assuming that the goblin king will return, which raises the question of who will play him. If Eggers wants to stick with the template of the original and cast a popular singer, all sorts of possilibities arise. Harry Styles? Bruno Mars? Or he could just go with an actor; I can see frequent Eggers collaborator Willem Dafoe stepping into the role of Jareth. People online seem to be stumping for Bill Skarsgård, who has made a career out of playing monsters like Pennywise from It or Nosferatu from Nosferatu.
We don't have release dates for either Werwulf or the Labyrinth sequel. I'm happy that Eggers seems to be reaching a new level of fame and influence within Hollywood. I just hope he uses his power responsibly.
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