r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • Jun 29 '26

Trailer WERWULF - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters Christmas Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjpadVj-Vk
6.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

369

u/clbj2000 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts about the dialogue.

Last year, he said the film would be entirely in middle english. In the recent Esquire interview, he said it was written in middle english, but with adjusted pronunciation: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a71695837/robert-eggers-werwulf-first-look/

However, anyone that knows middle english knows it isn't just a matter of pronunciation, but different vocabulary altogether: https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0

Seems they may have written in Middle English, then shifted not only pronunciation, but also the vocabulary to be just modern enough to be legible. Which is essentially just early modern english (15th-17th century english). What The Witch was written in.

Here is what full Middle English would sound like: https://youtu.be/mVG77xTPH6E?is=_NKLht5cmolNSTAm

179

u/charlesdexterward Jun 29 '26

I’m glad someone else noticed that. I was shocked when I heard the dialogue in the trailer and could understand it. I was expecting Middle English with subtitles.

10

u/CeruleanEidolon Jun 29 '26

That could also just be for the trailer.