Some creative partnerships are simply too deliciously macabre to leave alone, and Willem Dafoe and Robert Eggers seem determined to prove it. The actor and director are joining forces for Werwulf, their fourth consecutive collaboration, making their working relationship almost as dependable as a horror movie’s ominous footsteps. Whatever horrors await audiences this time, the pair have already made a compelling case for keeping their partnership alive.

But Eggers has Shakespeare on his mind, too, with Romeo & Juliet in the works. Naturally, Dafoe has offered a tantalizing hint about whether he might follow the director to Verona.

Willem Dafoe and Robert Eggers have a cinematic partnership that is practically begging for another encore, and the director might just have one in mind! In an interview with FilmUpdates, the actor was asked whether he would appear in Eggers’ upcoming adaptation of Romeo & Juliet. Considering their remarkable history, Dafoe certainly did not seem opposed to the idea.

“I won't hold him to that, but I get the sneaking suspicion there may be something for me to do in that,” he said while recalling how Eggers once said that "he'd never make a movie" without him.

Dafoe added that he hoped to reunite with Eggers, praising the filmmaker and expressing how much he enjoyed working with him. It sounds like the actor would happily accept another invitation into the director’s wonderfully twisted imagination.

The enthusiasm is hardly surprising, considering that Werwulf continues a streak that includes The Lighthouse, The Northman, and Nosferatu. Dafoe has previously praised Eggers as an immaculate world-maker whose meticulously constructed sets shape an actor’s performance. As FilmUpdates shared the interview on X, fans have another reason to wonder whether this creative partnership will extend to Shakespeare.

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If Eggers is taking Werwulf back to the 14th century, one can only imagine what he has planned for Verona, especially with Dafoe possibly along for the ride.

Apparently, even Verona is not safe from Robert Eggers, whose idea of romance may involve rather more historical grime than candlelit glamour. The filmmaker is developing a Romeo and Juliet adaptation for Focus Features, and forget modern wardrobes or a contemporary spin: the plan is a period drama rooted in Renaissance Verona. Shakespeare’s young lovers are heading back to their own time, presumably without the luxury of modern relationship advice.

The production is reportedly considering older forms of English speech, while the play’s bloodshed, doomed passion, and grim inevitability should give Eggers plenty to sink his teeth into. The project won a competitive studio bidding war and is slated to follow Werwulf, with frequent collaborator Willem Dafoe teasing a possible appearance. If Dafoe joins the cast, the tantalizing question is whether Eggers can make the world’s most famous romance feel as haunting as his nightmares.

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Would you like to see Willem Dafoe in Robert Eggers' Romeo & Juliet? Let us know in the comments!