These days, nobody makes films like Robert Eggers. From The Witch, to The Lighthouse, and now with The Northman, the filmmaker begins his course of virtually such as you would a college mission. Libraries and specialists and analysis, analysis, analysis till he has the items he must make a improbable, historic style movie that’s fully primarily based in actuality, however in no way actual.

The Northman, in theaters Friday, is all that and extra. It’s Eggers’ largest movie but, it’s his most accessible, and all the things you see in it that appears not possible has some foundation in actuality. Or, a minimum of, somebody’s actuality. In this case, it’s the whole thing of Viking historical past, which Eggers dove into to seek out inspiration for a well-known story he may inform in an entire new approach: the story of a prince (Alexander Skarsgård) who watches his father and king (Ethan Hawke) murdered. He then disappears, solely to return again years later searching for revenge. It co-stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe.

io9 spoke to Eggers by way of video chat final week about why he used that Shakespearan story for the idea of his Viking epic, why there are such a lot of supernatural components in it, his growth as a filmmaker, mummified horse penises (sure you learn that proper), and why earlier than he even knew what The Northman was, he knew he wished to finish it with two bare males preventing on a volcano.

This interview has been edited for readability.

Germain Lussier, io9: The Northman, like your entire work, relies on tons of analysis however finally is fiction. How do you go about mixing components of actuality and fantasy?

Robert Eggers: Everything that I do is research-based to the purpose the place it’s boring to debate… But the factor is, within the Viking age, there have been no Viking atheists. The actual world and the mythological world have been the identical factor. Odin Valkyries, trolls, undead warriors, they have been info. The Eyrbyggja saga has ghost seal assaults! Like, clearly! So that [sentiment] wanted to be the identical within the movie. So I’m working with my historians and archeologists to create the verisimilitude of the bodily world, but additionally the inside world. So in the event that they’re believing in one thing, it existed, and it’s type of so simple as that.

io9: So with all of these improbable components in play, how did you determine to make the spine of The Northman a narrative that’s so acquainted, fairly than a bit of extra unfamiliar?

Eggers: Sure. So principally, I didn’t know that Shakespeare learn a narrative written down by a Danish historian referred to as Amleth. And that was his inspiration for Hamlet. Amleth is a Norse folktale that predates Saxo Grammaticus, but it surely’s Hamlet. It’s The Lion King. And the good factor is having that story, a intentionally super-simple story that everybody is aware of, I can present audiences stuff they haven’t seen earlier than in regards to the Viking age and discover the mythological and spiritual and ritual tradition of the Viking age. And with this bare-bones story, have necessary Viking set items. To have a Viking raid, to have the ships come dwelling from a raid and have a celebration, to have a Viking funeral, however then to have the issues that perhaps individuals don’t know.

Like all of us have seen enchanted swords that must be received by a combat from their undead proprietor and perhaps individuals don’t know that that’s a Viking trope, however it’s. Maybe individuals don’t know in regards to the Viking very bloody hockey-like recreation referred to as Knattleikr, ? There’s stuff that’s actually prevalent in Viking tales that we wished to place in that folks may not know as effectively.

io9: I’m glad you introduced up weaponry as a result of I liked the Night Blade on this film. The thought of a sword that would solely be used at evening is such a cool thought, are you able to inform me how that got here to be?

Eggers: Well, enchanted swords play a giant half within the sagas, and fairly often they’re older. And the sword interval, the Vendel Period earlier than the Viking age, really, I believe, has cooler swords and armor. So it was a pleasure to try this as a result of many of the swords are simply flat-out museum replicas of archeological finds however Draugr the Night Blade relies on just a few swords from an precedent days, together with the Sutten Hoo sword. But yeah, it’s fairly cool.

io9: Yeah, it’s actually, actually rad. Now, with issues like that and all the things you simply talked about, it’s apparent you’re a fan of the filmmaking course of right down to the smallest element. So what’s your favourite a part of making a movie? What’s the half that, while you end it, you go “Now I have to make another movie just so I can do that again”?

Eggers: This sounds so lame however I really like each facet of filmmaking now. Like writing has sure magic since you haven’t finished it but, so it’s actually nice, that time frame. But I believe as a result of I come from theater, the magic of manufacturing, while you’re working with the actors and it’s like occurring and likewise, how fortunate am I that for all my three movies, I’ve bought to make an entire world? So like I’m dwelling in my very own private distress world [laughs] that I get to essentially get pleasure from being in. 

io9: Right. “The Eggers-verse.” I adore it. Now, I received’t spoil the precise ending, however I believed the ultimate battle was actually one of the vital lovely issues I’d ever seen. Take us by your concepts and course of for capturing that finale.

Robert Eggers: Before I had a film I believed “If I ever made a Viking movie it should end with naked sword fighting on a volcano.” And so I believed quite a bit about it, however me and my DP’s method is all the time naturalism. And we discovered a quarry that appeared sufficient like Mount Hekla after which Craig Lathrop, the manufacturing designer, introduced in all this black earth to make it extra like Hekla. Then Sam Conway and his crew, the particular results, had big, big flames. I imply, we’re speaking huge flames and all this black smoke and grey smoke and ash and cinders and all that stuff, all virtually. Now the lava, we couldn’t do virtually.

io9: Makes sense.

Eggers: But Jared [Manley] and Seamus Lynch, the gaffer, designed these LED panels that have been dug into the Earth that have been the form of the lava streams. Then they have been programmed so the sunshine would transfer the way in which lava would transfer. So the sunshine on the actors is working with them on this natural approach. And then, Angela Barson, the results supervisor, went to the latest eruption in Iceland and was photographing all this footage of the eruptions so we had actually, actually, actually good references. So that’s why it’s a bit of extra convincing than another volcanoes.

io9: And you don’t know the place that concept of a volcano combat got here from?

Eggers: Just Iceland is like… it’s so elemental there. And I simply imagined the primary Icelanders crusing there and never dying and simply having to be there with nothing. And so like probably the most elemental factor I can consider was a unadorned sword combat on a volcano.

io9: This is your third film, but additionally your first… not straight motion film, however let’s say a “Robert Eggers action movie.” How would you describe your evolution to date as a filmmaker? Where do you see or hope to you see your self going sooner or later? 

Eggers: Well, I believe that the development from The Witch to The Lighthouse makes loads of sense. And if I had made like, , a 3rd New England people horror film that was like a tiny bit larger than that, that will have been a extremely pure development. But that didn’t occur [laughs]. This was not a pure development. This film was huge compared to the opposite two movies. And, I don’t know if that was smart, however like, it occurred, and right here we’re. But the cool factor is, I discovered a lot about filmmaking, and so I’m desperate to make a smaller movie—not as small as The Lighthouse, however definitely smaller than this—and have my abilities be in ship form to do one thing that I can actually get what’s in my creativeness onto the display in a approach that’s very satisfying for myself personally. 

io9: Yeah, The Lighthouse and The Witch didn’t have LED lava. That’s a brand new instrument within the toolbox.

Eggers: Indeed, for certain. But additionally there’s a approach through which I’m going to be like, “I want all this” and It’s like, “Well, yeah, you can’t have that because this is not The Northman, dude. Sorry.”

io9: We type of joked about an “Eggers-verse” and I used to be questioning if a giant company paid you approach an excessive amount of cash and stated you may make any film on this some other franchise’s universe, do you might have a franchise that you’d do?

Eggers: No.

io9: Nothing. It’s simply the Eggers-verse.

Eggers: Yeah, sorry.

io9: No, no, it’s advantageous. I get it. Is there a element or two on this film {that a} filmgoer won’t ever, ever discover, even when they noticed it 100 instances, that you simply’re particularly happy with or enthusiastic about?

Eggers: There is a þáttr, which is a brief story, referred to as “Vǫlsa þáttr” that’s a couple of household that worships a mummified horse penis. And the idol of Freyr, his phallus, is a mummified horse penis in Iceland. [Laughs]

io9: [Laughs] Well, there you go. Didn’t discover that one. I discussed how the ending of the film actually caught with me, however the monitoring pictures within the first act are additionally unbelievable—what shot took the longest to plan and the way lengthy did it take to movie? 

Eggers: I imply, the raid of the village took by far probably the most planning as a result of it’s probably the most complicated and had probably the most components. The most individuals, probably the most stuntmen, probably the most horses and goats, and all that shit. And I believe it took 4 days, which is comparatively brief. 

io9: You type of gave Anya Taylor-Joy her first largest increase to changing into a star with The Witch. Now, she’s again on this one and is unbelievable. Of course, there’s The Queen’s Gambit, and now she’s going to be Furiosa. What’s it been wish to see her profession trajectory and have performed an element in that?

Eggers: I’m so happy with her. And she’s remained Anya and grounded and tremendous cool, and it was a pleasure to work along with her on this.

The Northman opens in theaters April 22.

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