What If Scrooge Was a Monster? Robert Eggers and Willem Dafoe Reimagine Dickens' Classic

In a twist even the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come might not have seen coming, Robert Eggers — the filmmaker behind such shadow-drenched tales as The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman — is stepping into far more festive territory. Sort of. According to Deadline, Eggers is set to direct and write a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol for Warner Bros., putting his unmistakably eerie stamp on Charles Dickens' beloved holiday fable.

At the centre of this reimagining is longtime Eggers collaborator Willem Dafoe, tapped to play the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s a role the director reportedly crafted with Dafoe specifically in mind — fitting, considering the actor has become something of a spectral constant in Eggers’ recent filmography, from the hallucinatory lighthouse keeper to his upcoming role in Nosferatu. Together, the pair seem poised to summon a far more Gothic, and possibly unhinged, vision of the world’s most famous redemption arc.

While A Christmas Carol has seen countless adaptations over the decades — from musical to Muppet — Eggers’ version promises something else entirely. With its ghostly structure and Victorian setting, the tale fits naturally within the director’s moody, folkloric style. Yet its ultimate themes — hope, change, and human warmth — stand in stark contrast to Eggers’ usual palette of dread and ambiguity. How exactly he’ll reconcile the two remains to be seen.

As for the timing, Eggers is currently preparing to shoot Werwulf this autumn, meaning the haunted holidays will have to wait just a bit longer.