Robert Eggers To Direct ‘Christmas Carol’ Movie, Eyes Willem Dafoe

EXCLUSIVE: After hitting a home run during the holidays with his new take on the Dracula story Nosferatu, Robert Eggers looks to be staying in the Christmas spirit for a new project he has set his sights on. Sources tell Deadline that Warner Bros is in development with Eggers who will write and direct a retelling of the classic Charles Dickens Christmas ghost story A Christmas Carol. Insiders add that while negotiations are not underway with talent, Eggers is writing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for his longtime collaborator Willem Dafoe.

Chris Columbus and Elenor Columbus are attached to produce via Maiden Voyage. Eggers will also produce.

A Christmas Carol has seen its fair share of retellings over the years with its tale of an elderly miser visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. The classic Dickens tale seems to be right in Eggers’ wheelhouse, not only because of the supernatural elements but also because the time period seems a perfect fit for his visual style.

Nosferatu was the biggest box office hit of Eggers’ career, bringing in $181 million worldwide including $95 million domestically. The film was also a hit with critics, who sparked to the visual style that would lead to four Oscar nominations in the crafts categories of Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling.

Next up for Eggers is the Focus Features pic Werwulf, which he plans to shoot later this year.

Dafoe has become the director’s muse of late, having previously appeared in his past three films: The Lighthouse, The Northman and Nosferatu.

Eggers is repped by Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Dafoe is repped by WME and Circle Management + Production.