A new batch of images for Robert Eggers’ The Northman has just hit the internet (via Total Film) and it includes Alexander Skarsgård’s Amleth going full berserker mode, Ethan Hawke’s King Aurvandil War Raven looking all kinds of regal, and Willem Dafoe’s Heimir the Fool looking like a middle-ages Green Goblin cosplayer.
The Viking epic comes from the creator of brilliant horror period films like The Witch and The Lighthouse. For The Northman, Eggers is embarking on the biggest film of his career by adapting the real-life story of prince Amleth, the Scandinavian legend that inspired Hamlet. The film will see Amleth on a bloody warpath and seeking vengeance against the uncle that killed his father, King Aurvandil.
In addition to Dafoe reuniting with Eggers post his starring role in The Lighthouse, some actors from The Witch are also joining the director once again, such as Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Dickie, and Ralph Ineson.
Eggers shared that when he sat down to make the Vikings film, he made a list of three things that he deemed compulsory to give the story an authentic look.
“I knew it needs to take place mostly in Iceland, it needs to have a revenge story, and it needs to have a naked swordfight on a volcano.”
In the stunning first trailer for the film, we see Amleth dedicating his life to rescuing his mother, Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman), which will entail confronting his murderous uncle, Claes Bang’s Fjölnir.
The film, co-written by Eggers and Icelandic poet-novelist Sjón, is all set to hit theaters on April 22.