Witches, vampires, werewolves… Shakespeare? Yes, Robert Eggers is leaving the horror genre behind for his next movie, which will be a new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at Focus Features.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Focus Features beat out A24, Sony, and Warner Bros. in a bidding war for Eggers’ Romeo and Juliet adaptation. It’s no surprise that the Universal studio arm landed the project, given that it has released and worked with Eggers on all his films.
The deal is said to be in the high-70 millions, which will include filmmaker and talent fees as well as the budget for the production. Eggers will direct the Shakespeare feature and produce. Sources tell THR that this adaptation will feature actors speaking in Olde English.
Written in the 1590s, Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s more famous plays. A tragic romance, it tells the ill-fated story of the titular young lovers who hail from two warring families, the Capulets and the Montagues, in the city of Verona, Italy.
Romeo and Juliet, like most Shakespeare plays, has been adapted multiple times already. The image used in this article is from Baz Luhrmann’s modern take released in 1996 and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
Eggers’ next movie, Werwulf, is his take on the werewolf horror story. It will be released in theaters on Christmas Day.
Are you excited to see Eggers move away from the horror genre and tackle Shakespeare?
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