When The Northman roars its way into theaters next month, prepare to see Alexander Skarsgård as you've never seen the actor before. While we've laid witness to the muscle-bound Swedish actor in a number of revealing projects, related to vampires, Tarzan, and the like, the latest feature film from co-writer/director Robert Eggers finds the handsome leading man taking on the role of a ruthless, blood-thirsty vigilante Viking who will stop at nothing to avenge his fallen kin. Not even his modesty and the boiling flames of lava will halt his pursuit. At least, that's what Eggers has teased in a recent interview. And now, we've got more images that give us an even clearer idea of what the film will be like.
Speaking with Total Film, the acclaimed filmmaker discussed the idealization process of his newest film. When he asked himself what he wanted to see in a Viking movie, Eggers knew that it needed to "take place mostly in Iceland," it needed to "have a revenge story," and it "needs to have a naked swordfight on a volcano." Suffice it to say, you'll see all that and plenty more, it seems, in his latest motion picture.
If you're wondering why our leading man needed to be in the buff on top of a volcano in the midst of clanging swords, you'll have to request an audience with Eggers, because the reasoning isn't clear. Of course, why are you asking "Why?" when the real question is, "Why not?" As made clear by his previous two films, The Witch and The Lighthouse, Eggers is an audacious filmmaker who can conjure up bold, striking photography — even at the expense of his A-list stars. Indeed, as the upcoming film's exhilarating trailer teases, The Northman will surely be filled with stunning, visceral images galore. Skarsgård slicing and dicing his opponent on top of a volcano —sans clothes — will be only one memorable image in this intriguing new addition to Eggers' filmography.
Though we don't get to see the swordfight in question in these newly-released stills, Total Film does give readers a chance to see Skarsgård going berserk, along with new images of co-stars Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe. The former is the ill-fated Aurvandill, the late father of Skarsgård's Viking prince, Amleth, while Dafoe, reuniting with his Lighthouse director, is slated to play Heimir the Fool — a hell of a name.
Also starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Dickie, Nicole Kidman, and Ralph Ineson, The Northman promises to be a brazen, bonkers good time at the movies. Let's hope that's the case when it thrashes its way into theaters on April 22nd.
Check out the images below: