How The Northman Filmed Graphic Volcano Battle Scene
Director and co-writer of The Northman, Robert Eggers, talks about how stressful filming his most recent feature was, especially when it came to the climactic battle on a volcano that presented a unique challenge. The Northman marks Eggers' third outing as a feature film director following his two previous period pieces that delve into the horrific, The Witch and The Lighthouse. His newest movie will see him reunite with Anya Taylor-Joy, who starred as a young English settler in The Witch, and Willem Dafoe, who played lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse. This will be Eggers' first time working with lead actor Alexander Skarsgård, who's described his Northman role as both the most difficult and most rewarding one he's had to date.
Based off a medieval Scandinavian legend, The Northman follows the journey of Prince Amleth (Skarsgård). From a young age, he is forced into a lifelong quest of vengeance against his uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang) after he kills Amleth's father (Ethan Hawke), seizes control of his kingdom, and leaves Amleth with no choice but to flee to a Viking settlement. As with his other films, Eggers went to great lengths to make the piece period accurate, including depicting the graphic violence of hand-to-hand combat in the 9th century. A recently released red-band trailer for The Northman gave audiences a couple of second-long glimpses at the pivotal battle between Amleth and Fjölnir that sees the two men clashing swords atop an active volcano.
Related: Why The Northman Will Be Bigger Than The Lighthouse (And The Witch)
In an interview with THR, Eggers describes how stressful filming The Northman was due to shooting stunts on land and sea, having live animals on set, and filming "a naked sword
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