Robert Eggers Will Preview Werwulf at Sitges 2026
Robert Eggers will receive Sitges’ Time Machine Award and share a Werwulf clip ahead of the film’s Christmas 2026 U.S. release.
Robert Eggers is bringing a first look at Werwulf to the 59th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. The filmmaker will receive the festival’s Time Machine Award and present a clip from his new folk-horror film during the 2026 edition.
Eggers co-wrote Werwulf with Sjón, his collaborator on The Northman. The film is set in 14th-century England and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe. Focus Features will release it in the United States on December 25, 2026.
A fitting festival stop for Eggers
Sitges is also honoring Eggers’ broader body of work, which includes The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman and Nosferatu. His films have repeatedly combined period detail with folklore, belief and psychological dread, making the festival a natural venue for an early glimpse of Werwulf.
One date requires a little care: Sitges’ announcement lists January 8, 2027 for the film’s Spanish release, while Focus Features lists December 25, 2026 for the U.S. opening.
What We Think
Werewolves are my favorite horror subgenre, but I’m not letting my expectations get away from me. I haven’t been a fan of Eggers’ previous work, with the exception of Nosferatu, and even that didn’t blow me away. I’ve always found slow-burn movies to be boring, and unfortunately that is where a lot of his films tend to lean.
That’s not to say I don’t acknowledge his talent. His films are beautifully shot, and his attention to historical detail is hard to match. I’m hoping Werwulf is more like Nosferatu for me and becomes the first movie of his I truly love, but in my gut I fear it will be a very slow movie that gets so buried in werewolf lore that the story never really gets moving.
That being said, I’ll be at the earliest showing available to me, wearing some form of werewolf shirt with my fingers crossed. I’m even hoping a glimpse of the Sitges footage will ease my worries and let me finally get some sleep before Christmas.
Sources: Sitges Film Festival and Focus Features.