The Big Picture

Willem Dafoe will play Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a crazy vampire hunter, in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake. The character is an expanded version of a minor player in the original 1922 Nosferatu, with elements of Abraham Van Helsing thrown in. Dafoe previously starred in Shadow of the Vampire, a film based on the original Nosferatu, where he played the vampiric Max Shreck.

Willem Dafoe is on the hunt for the undead in a first look at his character in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. The remake of the silent vampire classic will hit theaters next Christmas. Entertainment Weekly has the first look at Dafoe’s vampire hunter in the upcoming film, showing Dafoe cackling maniacally in period costume in a tomb as flames erupt around him.

Dafoe’s character, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, is based on a minor player in the 1922 version of Nosferatu, but Eggers has given him an expanded role, calling him a “crazy vampire hunter” with his own sidekick – Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, who will be played by frequent Eggers collaborator Ralph Ineson as “the Watson to Willem Dafoe’s Holmes”. The scene depicted in the still was an exciting one to shoot, as it involved not only real flames, but 2,000 live rats. In addition to Dafoe, Ineson, and thousands of rats, Nosferatu will also star Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Nicholas Hoult. Viewers can witness Dafoe’s crusade against vampires themselves a year from now, when Nosferatu hits theaters on December 25, 2024.

Who is Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz?
Nosferatu was German director F.W. Murnau’s unlicenced adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with the character names altered; as Dracula was still under copyright at the time, the production was sued by Stoker’s still-living widow, and the film was nearly lost forever. However, the character of Abraham Van Helsing, the vampire expert who assists in slaying Dracula in Stoker’s novel, was largely omitted from Murnau’s film; the character of Professor Bulwer (John Gottowt) is loosely based on him. The venerable vampire-hunter plays a larger role in Werner Herzog’s 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre; by then, Dracula had entered the public domain, allowing him to be named Abraham Van Helsing. The 2024 Nosferatu’s Albin Eberhart Von Franz is a loose adaptation of Bulwer’s character, with a considerable amount of Van Helsing thrown in. Van Helsing, of course, is now a constant presence in adaptations of Dracula, dating back to his portrayal by Edward Van Sloan in 1931; he has subsequently been played by a diverse group of actors, including Peter Cushing, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Hugh Jackman, and Wallace Shawn.

Eggers’ Nosferatu won’t be Dafoe’s first project based on the silent vampire classic. In 2000, Dafoe starred in Shadow of the Vampire, a film that imagined original Nosferatu star Max Schreck was an actual member of the undead. Murnau (John Malkovich) must get his film completed before Schreck (Dafoe) can devour his cast and crew. Dafoe was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his menacing turn as the vampiric Schreck.

Nosferatu will premiere in theaters December 25, 2024. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.