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Werwulf Trailer Drops as Studio Activates Full-Moon ARG

Focus Features is tying timed online scavenger hunts to Middle English worldbuilding to boost interest ahead of the film’s December 25 release.

Overview

  • The studio released a new official trailer Saturday that gives a clearer look at Robert Eggers’ 13th-century werewolf film and its grim, period visual tone.
  • Focus Features launched an alternate reality game at DevourethAllMankynde.com that runs on each full moon with 24-hour scavenger hunts and hidden codes to drive fan engagement.
  • Werwulf is written and directed by Eggers, stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe, and is set around 1300 with dialogue rendered in a version of Middle English.
  • Eggers has said the film avoids familiar werewolf clichés in favor of medieval folklore, and early industry screenings at CinemaCon and a Universal-lot event showed roughly 20 minutes of visceral, gnarly footage.
  • Focus is positioning Werwulf as holiday counterprogramming and a major genre release for the studio, a campaign that has already helped generate industry buzz and follow-on financing interest in Eggers’ next projects.