The Northman is Director Robert Egger’s new Viking period piece that he believes is his “most blockbuster picture yet.” At IGN Fan Fest, Eggers displayed screencaps from the film and began to break down his inspiration for the film.
Known for other movies, such as The Witch and The Lighthouse, Eggers is certainly known for stepping outside the box with his period pieces, and The Northman promises to be no different. Eggers plans to make this Viking revenge film as historically accurate as possible.
“[Historical accuracy] It’s not important to filmmaking, at all really,” Eggers notes in an interview with Collider. “And you can make a great period piece story without being accurate- you know Coppola’s Dracula is one of the best-designed movies in opinion, but it’s not accurate at all. But this is something that I like, for whatever reason. It excites me.”
The film stars Alexander Skarsgård as a Viking prince named Amleth with Ethan Hawke playing King Aurvandil. The plot follows Amleth’s journey to avenge his father’s murder living by the mantra, “I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjölnir.”
The Northman offers a star-studded cast with actors such as Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Björk, and Willem Dafoe offering their talents for this film which is set for a theatrical release on April 22.