Nosferatu director reveals iconic horror story he gave up on trying to adapt

By Alex Welch Published January 5, 2025

Robert Eggers is experiencing some of the most high-profile success of his career right now. His latest film, Nosferatu, has not only received largely rave reviews, but also emerged as a surprise box office hit after grossing over $100 million worldwide in its first two weeks in theaters. The film is Eggers’ take on the iconic 1922 silent horror film of the same name, which is itself unofficially based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Given his success with Nosferatu and his clear interest in classic horror stories, one could assume that Eggers might have plans to tackle another, similarly monumental horror property at some point in the future. Sure enough, in a recent interview with Curzon, Eggers revealed that he’s already tried writing his own adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Eggers says he was inspired to do so by the birth of his son, saying he felt an “unconscious urge” to try his hand at reinterpreting the beloved, timeless gothic novel.

Unlike Nosferatu, however, the filmmaker says he doesn’t intend to follow through on his Frankenstein adaptation. “I started to try to do Frankenstein, which after two weeks, I was like, ‘There’s no way I can do this, it’s impossible,'” he revealed. In the same interview, Eggers refrained from offering any insight into what his abandoned take on Frankenstein might have entailed, noting only that it “definitely sucked.”

Despite Eggers’ apparent struggles with the material, horror fans won’t have to wait long to see a new Frankenstein movie. Not only is director Maggie Gyllenhaal currently working on her own Frankenstein-adjacent film titled The Bride, but Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has also directed his own Frankenstein adaptation starring Oscar Isaac as the movie’s titular mad scientist and Jacob Elordi as his unnatural creation. Both films are set to hit theaters this year.

Eggers, for his part, doesn’t seem too heartbroken over his failed Frankenstein adaptation. “Sometimes, you know you have a dud,” he told Curzon. “I’m super excited for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.”

Nosferatu is now playing in theaters.