After watching Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, I am intrigued by his upcoming sequel to a classic musical fantasy movie. Since his first feature film, The Witch, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Ineson, was released in 2015, Robert Eggers’ movies have become some of the most exciting in the entertainment industry. The success of The Witch was followed by 2019’s The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, which was sH๏τ in black-and-white and received extensive critical acclaim.
Eggers then tackled an epic revenge thriller that takes place in 10th-century Iceland with 2022’s The Northman. The cast of The Northman is led by Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, and Taylor-Joy. While The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman are all well-regarded, Nosferatu‘s positive reviews, box office success, and its influence on popular culture puts the vampire remake starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, and Dafoe in a class of its own. Coming off the momentum of Nosferatu, I am curious to see how Eggers will handle the sequel to a 39-year-old movie.
Robert Eggers Is Making A Labyrinth Sequel After Nosferatu
He Is Directing Labyrinth 2 And Co-Writing The Screenplay With A Frequent Collaborator
Eggers’ Labyrinth 2 is slated as one of his upcoming movies. He is directing and co-writing the sequel to the original Labyrinth that was released in 1986. Labyrinth was directed by Jim Henson and contains the puppetry that is part of his iconic legacy. The story sees the teenage Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) navigating a maze to save her brother from the Goblin King, Jareth (David Bowie). During her journey, Sarah encounters many of Labyrinth‘s puppets, including Hoggle the dwarf and Ludo the troll.
Labyrinth 2 is confirmed to be a sequel instead of being a remake of the original movie. Eggers is co-writing the screenplay with Sjón, who also co-wrote the screenplay for The Northman. Jim Henson’s children, Lisa and Brian, will serve as producers on the sequel. Lisa is the CEO of The Jim Henson Company while Brian has continued to work as a filmmaker and puppeteer. Labyrinth 2 is not the only Eggers movie currently in development, as he is also working on Werwulf, which is scheduled to release on December 25, 2026, and which was also co-written with Sjón.
Labyrinth Is A Very Different Movie For Robert Eggers
It Is Drastically Different In Terms Of Style And IP
If Labyrinth 2 is anything like the original movie, it will be unlike any film that Eggers has directed before. Eggers’ previous works tend to favor a muted, dark, and haunting aesthetic. Labyrinth‘s visual style is far brighter and more colorful, partly due to some of the puppet designs. The use of puppets adds a sense of whimsy and a type of fantasy that does not exist in Eggers’ other movies. Some aspects of Labyrinth can be unsettling, although these elements pale in comparison with the horror and dread in the stories Eggers has helmed.
The use of music and song is arguably the biggest difference between Labyrinth and a traditional Eggers movie.
The use of music and song is arguably the biggest difference between Labyrinth and a traditional Eggers movie. Singing does not work in some fantasy movies, but when David Bowie is playing the Goblin King, it manages to work extraordinarily well. Labyrinth 2 is not Eggers’ first experience with an existing intellectual property, since Nosferatu is a remake of a horror classic. However, this is the first time that Eggers is doing a sequel instead of a remake, which comes with challenges that are different from the complexities of reimagining Nosferatu.
Nosferatu Provides A Glimpse Into How Robert Eggers Could Reinvent Labyrinth
He Knows How To Make The Familiar Feel Unique
Even though Nosferatu is a remake and not a sequel, it still shows hints of how Eggers can tackle Labyrinth 2. With the original Nosferatu film existing since 1922, it is a known commodity and a staple of the horror and vampire genres. Nevertheless, Eggers was able to put his own unique spin on a movie that is more than 100 years old and make it feel fresh and exciting for audiences to watch. These changes include a new, terrifying design for Count Orlok and expanding many aspects of Ellen Hutter’s role in the story.
Eggers’ success with making Nosferatu his own, while still honoring the original film, bodes well for his take on Labyrinth 2. He can honor the visual aesthetic, themes, and events of the first movie while also taking the sequel into new territory. Being a sequel instead of a remake arguably gives him even more creative freedom. Eggers does not need to retread a story that has already been told; he just needs to move the story forward after Labyrinth‘s ending. While Bowie pᴀssed away in 2016, Eggers’ vision will hopefully include Connelly reprising her role as Sarah.
Nosferatu Is A Good Sign That Robert Eggers’ Labyrinth Can Be A Bigger Hit
Two Of Eggers’ Other Three Movies Were Also Box Office Successes
Nosferatu not only shows that Labyrinth 2 can be well-received, but it also demonstrates that the sequel can become a box office hit. While Labyrinth became a cult classic film, it only grossed around $13 million when released in 1986 (via The Numbers). Labyrinth‘s box office total has grown in later years due to multiple theatrical re-releases. Meanwhile, Eggers’ Nosferatu grossed over $180 million (via The Numbers). While Labyrinth underperformed against its $25 million production budget, Nosferatu surpᴀssed expectations after having a $50 million budget.
Nosferatu earned approximately $95 million domestically and $85 million internationally.
Nosferatu‘s box office numbers further cement that Eggers has become one of today’s most exciting directors and that his involvement is enough to bring audiences to theaters. Labyrinth‘s nostalgia and its connections to Henson, Bowie, and Connelly will automatically generate interest in the sequel, but that interest will be more widespread with Eggers at the forefront of the movie. While Nosferatu is the most recent and prominent example of Eggers’ movies performing well at the box office, it is not the first time his movies have done well commercially.
Legacy sequels that are released decades after the original can be hit or miss, but with Eggers directing and co-writing, I am optimistic that Eggers’ Labyrinth 2 will be a critical and commercial success akin to Nosferatu.
The Witch had a budget of $3.5 million and went on to make $40 million worldwide (via The Numbers). The Lighthouse made $18 million against its $4 million budget (via The Numbers). The only Eggers movie that has struggled at the box office is The Northman, which grossed around $69 million against a $70-$90 million budget (via The Numbers). Legacy sequels that are released decades after the original can be hit or miss, but with Eggers directing and co-writing, I am optimistic that Eggers’ Labyrinth 2 will be a critical and commercial success akin to Nosferatu.
Sources: Various (see above)
