Through the first four films in Robert Eggers‘s career, the director has made movies set in different time periods and with wildly different tones. What unites each of those movies, though, is that they are set in a time long before the advent of modern technology, one where it felt more possible to believe in magic and mysticism.
In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Eggers made it clear that his long-ago settings are a highly intentional choice.
“The idea of having to photograph a car makes me ill,” Eggers said. “And the idea of photographing a cellphone is just death. And to make a contemporary story you have to photograph a cellphone — it’s just how life is — so no [I won’t be making any modern-set films].”
Eggers, who has made The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and Nosferatu, has set his films as far back as the 800s, but he has yet to set a movie past the 19th century.
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When he was asked exactly how modern he might go, Eggers said that he could make a movie that was closer to living memory, but not that close.
“I don’t know. I might go potentially to 1950 but before World War II is more inviting for my imagination,” he said.
Eggers’s comments follow the news that he is working on Werwulf, a werewolf horror movie that is reportedly set in the 13th century and a sequel to the 1986 film Labyrinth. Nosferatu, the director’s most recent project, was a massive financial success, so maybe Eggers should just keep doing what’s working for him.