Harry Styles Revealed To Have Pulled Out From Classic Remake
Harry Styles and his loyal fanbase were close to seeing the man take on a leading role, but it has been announced he has pulled out of this new venture.
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Attention fans of Harry Styles: you were this close to seeing the singer-turned-actor in a remake of a classic horror film from one of Hollywood’s most celebrated directors. In an interview with The New Yorker published March 28, director Robert Eggers revealed Styles was set to star as the lead character in the vampire film Nosferatu, the filmmaker’s next planned project. However, the 28-year-old actor pulled out of the film before production began.
The film would have featured a dream pairing that could have introduced a possible love story with the story’s vampire horror. Anya Taylor-Joy, who made her feature film debut in Robert Eggers’ 2015 horror film The Witch, will star in the movie as well. Seeing the Emmy-nominated Taylor-Joy paired with Harry Styles would have excited Stylers (the term Harry’s fans use to describe themselves), but alas, Eggers revealed that scheduling conflicts caused Styles to drop out of the project just as cameras were set to begin rolling in Prague, in the Czech Republic. The film remains in development, but no new casting or new start date for production has been announced.
Nosferatu, released in 1922, tells the story of Count Orlok (the role Harry Styles was set to play), a vampire seeking to buy an isolated home in the German forest. The agent selling Orlok the home learns of his secret life and is terrified to discover the vampire has become obsessed with his wife, Ellen (Taylor-Joy). As Orlok sets out on a journey from Transylvania to claim his new home, as well as Ellen, bodies begin to turn up, and the race to stop him begins.
The silent film (directed by F. W. Murnau) is revered for its creepy atmosphere, as well as an iconic performance by actor Max Schreck, who wore makeup and prosthetics so realistic and terrifying that many thought the actor looked that way. It is unclear if Harry Styles would have had to endure similar makeup, or if he would have been able to change his appearance to look “normal,” a trope used in many vampire tales. That would have allowed Styles and Taylor-Joy to interact in a more believable fashion and play up the romantic element their casting was likely to produce. The movie was remade twice, in the 1970s and 1990s, as well as with a reimaging for AMC, titled NOS4A2 with Zachary Quinto.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s casting was originally announced in 2017, but no actor had been publicly attached to the role of Count Orlok, and the film seemed to be stuck in development hell, especially after the COVID pandemic ground the movie industry to a halt. It appears Eggers intended to keep the casting of Harry Styles a secret even as production was set to begin, as no official announcement was made, and the actor was due to arrive on set when he pulled out of the role. He is currently working on a number of movie projects, and after appearing as Eros/Starfox in Marvel’s Eternals, it has been reported that he could appear as the character in as many as five more films.
Harry Styles has had a brief but successful film career since transitioning from singing to acting. He rose to fame on the British TV series X Factor, where he was a member of the band One Direction. After the band became a worldwide sensation, Styles broke out on a solo career and then moved into acting with 2017’s Dunkirk. That film earned him rave reviews, and he went on to star in Marvel’s Eternals and has two more films set for release. Giant Freakin Robot recently broke the news that Styles had signed a major development deal with Netflix.
