DirectorRobert Eggersis ready to unleashThe Northman, the upcoming Viking revenge saga that he described as his “most blockbuster picture yet.” Eggers debuted four new stills from the movie atIGN Fan Festthis week, and spoke about his dedication to historical accuracy, as well as some design inspirations behind the appearances of certain characters.
The four new pictures featureAlexander Skarsgård’s Viking prince Amleth,Claes Bang’s Fjölnir,Ingvar Sigurdssonas The Sorcerer, andEthan Hawkeas King Aurvandil. InThe Northman, Amleth goes on a revenge quest after his father, the King, is killed by his brother, Amleth’s uncle, Fjölnir.The first trailerfor the movie revealed its epic scale—the biggest that Eggers has attempted yet—and its gritty action.
It also gave a small glimpse at Skarsgård’s formidable physique and his character’s proclivity for violence. As it should have: Eggers called Amleth a “berserker” who can channel the ferocity of a bear. He also revealed that The Sorcerer’s mummified head in the new still is inspired by Odin’s “prophetic abilities.”
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Eggers said that although movies in general shouldn’t be beholden to historical accuracy—he citedFrancis Ford Coppola’sDraculaadaptation as a good example of a terrifically designed movie that wasn’t in the least bit historically accurate—he prefers rooting his movies in fact:
“[Historical accuracy] It’s not important to filmmaking, at all really. And you can make a great period story without being accurate — you know Coppola’s Dracula is one of the best-designed movies in my opinion but it’s not accurate at all. But this is something that I like, for whatever reason. It excites me.”
Inan interview with Collider’sSteve Weintraub, Eggers spoke about how he got expert opinion about the history that he was going to tackle in the movie:
“I was working with the finest Viking historians and archeologists consulting on the film, and many people who are all part of the experimental archeology and living history community.”
Eggers, of course, isn’t a stranger to period pieces. He broke out with the unsettling horror pictureThe VVitch, and followed it up with the surrealist psychological thrillerThe Lighthouse.
Based on an old saga called “Prince Amleth of Jutland,” which inspired Shakespeare to writeHamlet,The Northmanalso starsNicole Kidman,Anya Taylor-Joy,Björk, andWillem Dafoe. The film is slated for a theatrical release on April 22. Check out the new images below:
