The Northman, the new film from The Witch and The Lighthouse writer and director Robert Eggers, features a naked sword fight on a volcano. Marvel could never. “When I first thought, ‘I want to make a Viking movie,’ I knew three things,” Eggers said in a recent interview. “I knew it needs to take place mostly in Iceland, it needs to have a revenge story, and it needs to have a naked sword fight on a volcano.”
His dream came true, and best of all, Alexander Skarsgård didn’t have his “bits” cut off.
“We actually had to add things digitally because they were wearing thongs [instead of being naked] because no one wanted to get their bits chopped off,” Eggers told the Hollywood Reporter. “We actually had to add some CG genitals for certain shots so that they didn’t look too Ken doll-ish. You’ve got to make it look real, so I’m sure we did some full-body scans of Alex. They’re out there.” Internet detectives, you know what to do.
Eggers also discussed what it’s like working with Anya Taylor-Joy now on The Northman vs. working with Anya Taylor-Joy in her breakout role on The Witch. He said “she was great when she was 18” and “she’s great now,” but “where she’s changed the most is just that her professionalism on set is an inspiration for everyone who works with her. I know that’s boring, but it is cool, especially when she’s wearing a potato sack barefoot in the mud with horizontal rain, and she’s got a good attitude.”
Meanwhile, Black Phillip is still waiting for his The Northman callback.
The Northman is out in theaters now.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
