A winter moon hangs over a medieval landscape; superstition, faith and animal fear close in. Robert Eggers’ Werwulf brings a deliberately archaic spelling to a new folk-horror vision, with the filmmaker once again turning a period world into a place where the supernatural feels uncomfortably near.
Werwulf (2026)
Release at a Glance
- US release: 25 December 2026, exclusively in cinemas
- US distributor: Focus Features
- UK release: 1 January 2027, in cinemas
- UK distributor: Universal Pictures
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Announced stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe
- Genre: Horror
Watch the Official Trailer
Confirmed So Far
Set in 14th-century England, Werwulf follows a man and his family as their town comes under siege from a ravenous beast. Robert Eggers directs the gothic folk-horror tale, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe leading the announced cast. The result is a creature story shaped less like a modern monster movie than a winter legend whispered by firelight.
Werwulf opens in the United States on Christmas Day 2026 through Focus Features, before arriving in UK cinemas on New Year’s Day 2027 through Universal Pictures. The runtime and rating are still to be confirmed.
An Official Look
What to Look For
The trailer’s strongest proposition is atmosphere. Its old-world imagery, severe shadows and ritualised sense of dread suggest a film more interested in folklore and moral terror than in easy jump-scare mechanics. That is an expectation drawn from the footage, not a promise of the finished film, but it makes the seasonal release date feel pointedly off-kilter.
Eggers has made his name through period detail that is tactile rather than decorative. If Werwulf sustains the trailer’s pressure, the draw will be the collision of historical texture and a wolf-man myth that still has real teeth.
Spoiler-Free Preview Verdict
Werwulf already looks like a confident fit for Eggers’ particular kind of horror: patient, physical and unnervingly close to folklore. With Taylor-Johnson, Depp and Dafoe in the frame, it is one of the winter’s most distinctive big-screen prospects.
Will you be seeing Werwulf at Christmas in the US or waiting for its New Year cinema arrival in the UK?