The Witch and Lighthouse director, Robert Eggers’ next movie, The Northman has released its first official trailer, which is releasing in theatres next year in April.
The revenger thriller will see True Blood and Big Little Lies actor, Alexander Skarsgård turn into a Viking berserker with a need for revenge which movie audiences can get a taste of in the first trailer. The film’s story will be told from Skarsgård’s character, Amleth who sees his uncle, Fjolnir (played by Claes Bang) murder his father, King Aurvandil (played by Ethan Hawke). As his mother Queen Gudrun (played by Nicole Kidman), Amleth pledges he will get his revenge against his uncle.
“I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjolnir,” Amleth says pledging his revenge in a trailer.
“It’s basically the story of Hamlet or The Lion King, which was originally an old Norse story where the Hamlet character was called Amleth. We’ve told it in our own way,” Eggers said in an Entertainment Weekly interview.
“It is a Viking saga with magic and swords and mysticism and all the stuff that you’d want from that.”
Eggers who is editing the film and is more used to creating more condensed indie films says The Northman is “by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done and by far the most ambitious.” The Northman was written by the director himself and Icelandic novelist and poet Sjón, who were both introduced to each other through singer, Björk – who plays ‘The Seeress’ in The Northman – at a dinner party.
The film was made in collaboration with Alexander Skarsgård, who has been struggling to get a Viking movie off the ground. During the first meeting with Skarsgård, Eggers recalled how tall the actor was. As tall he was, Eggers says Skarsgård transformed his body for the film.
“He’s bigger than he is in Tarzan, and that’s no small feat. He completely became this character. When he first had to do that kind berserker transformation scene…everything fell into place,” Eggers said in an interview.
“To my taste and understanding, he is like a saga hero. There are moments where his rage is as powerful as anything I can think of in cinema. I’m not trying to toot my horn, but it’s intense.”
The Northman is set to release in theatres on April 22nd, 2022.
