Robert Eggers made a name for himself this year with his indie horror movie The Witch, which did fairly well at the box office but was an even bigger hit with critics. Now, he will be taking on a pretty big project, not so much in terms of scope but in terms of the expectations that will surely be placed on it. The director has confirmed that his next movie will be a remake of the all-time classic German vampire movie Nosferatu.

The Witch director was recently a guest on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. During the course of the interview, Robert Eggers confirmed that the Nosferatu remake will be his next movie, with the project in development since last summer. Here is what he had to say about it.

"[It's shocking] to me. It feels ugly and blasphemous and egomaniacal and disgusting for a filmmaker in my place to do Nosferatu next. I was really planning on waiting a while, but that's how fate shook out."

The original Nosferatu is one of the most iconic and beloved movies of the silent era and remains one of the most influential and respected horror movies ever made. So, even though it may seem like relative blasphemy to try and remake the movie, at least Robert Eggers appears to understand the gravity of taking on this project. Not only that, but he has been a lifelong fan of the movie. During the podcast, he talked about seeing a picture of Max Schreck as Count Orlok in the movie. He then made his mom drive to the mall so he could get a VHS copy of Nosferatu. He later directed a version of the play as a senior in HS, which led him to be recruited to re-state the play a professional level.

With all of that factored in, it seems like Robert Eggers could very well be the right guy to remake Nosferatu. Werner Herzog also did a remake of Nosferatu in the 70s that was well received at the time, but the 1922 version from German director F.W. Mernau remains the definitive version by a wide margin. Part of the reason that a remake of Nosferatu is a difficult task is that even though the movie is nearly 100 years old, it still manages to land with modern audiences. The director also teased that his version of Nosferatu will be a bit different and will explore the origins of the vampire.

Robert Eggers' first feature length movie The Witch made a respectable $40 million at the box office against a very small budget. Perhaps more importantly, the movie has a 91 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a major hit with critics. Something not typical in the horror genre. The success of that movie helped get this Nosferatu remake moving forward. The movie doesn't yet have a release date, but it will be made for Jeff Robinov's production company Studio 8.