In a recent interview with Collider, IT star Bill Skarsgård has revealed that he is no longer a part of the ensemble cast for Robert Eggers’ forthcoming Viking revenge film The Northman. The Swedish actor admitted that it wasn’t an easy decision but due to scheduling conflicts caused by the pandemic, he had no choice but to exit the film. This project would have been Bill Skarsgård’s reunion project with his brother Alexander Skarsgård after 20 years since starring in the 2000 Swedish film White Water Fury.
“No, unfortunately. It’s been a scheduling nightmare during COVID. It is what it is. It’s a big shame. Eggers is one of the great filmmakers out there and working with my brother…I don’t want to talk about it, it’s going to make me burst into tears,” Skarsgård said.
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The Northman is described as a Viking revenge film that will be set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th Century.
Eggers has put together an all-star ensemble for the film including Oscar winner Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, Claes Bang, Kate Dickie, and Grammy-nominated Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk plus previous collaborators Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch). Eggers will direct from a script he co-wrote with Icelandic novelist Sjón.
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Eggers first gained recognition through his 2015 feature directorial debut The Witch which is a horror period film that immediately received critical and commercial success. This was then followed by 2019’s psychological thriller The Lighthouse which was shot on 35mm black-and-white stock using equipment from the 1920s and ’40s. Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, the film opened in theaters on October 18 to rave reviews from critics and was a modest commercial success, grossing over $18 million on a $4 million budget, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
