Will we see Aaron Taylor-Johnson at next year's Oscars for Werewulf?

The Olympics wrap up this weekend. Every Olympic cycle I pick one sport to follow all the way through, and this year, inspired by Heated Rivalry, it was women’s hockey. Sorry to the men, but I cannot support the NHL, and though I am intrigued by this possibly being Sidney Crosby’s last Olympics, I lived through Patrick Kane’s f-cksh-t and the league’s f-cksh-ttier response, and I just cannot support men’s hockey until they clean up their vibes.

You can use the admittedly fun phrase “boy aquarium” all you want, until the vibes improve, it’s a no from me. But the girl aquarium? The Olympics were so fun I am seriously contemplating getting tickets to the PWHL Takeover Tour stop in Chicago next month. The vibes were immaculate!

The next Olympic cycle will be the 2028 summer games held in Los Angeles (currently engulfed in Epstein-related controversy, things are going GREAT). There was an “LA28” party in Milan last night which brought out notable non-Angeleno Aaron Taylor-Johnson. (He was there because the party was sponsored by Omega, and he’s a brand ambassador.) ATJ works reliably and this year is no different, with two films on the horizon: Cary Joji Fukanaga’s thriller Blood On Snow, based on a Jo Nesbø novel, and Werewulf from Robert Eggers.

There were photos from set late last year in which everyone looked miserable, so you know it’s a Robert Eggers’ joint. His films are so realistically grounded in history that they always look like everyone has lice and reeks of body odor and sh-twater, and Werewulf won’t be any different. The film co-stars Lily Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson, also staples of Eggers’ work. As Lainey said, Eggers is building a stable of actors he works with regularly, not unlike Christopher Nolan and Ryan Coogler.

But what interests me most about Werewulf is that it is co-written by Eggers and Icelandic poet and writer Sjón. He co-wrote The Northman, probably Eggers’ most underappreciated film at this point but a total f-cking banger of a cinematic experience, and my favorite Eggers film so far. I am VERY interested to see what comes of their second collaboration. Sjón is also Björk’s creative partner—Eggers is building a stable of actors while Sjón is building a stable of visionaries.

Following the box office success of Nosferatu, which opened on Christmas day 2024, Werewulf is also being released on Christmas day. This means ATJ could be in the Oscar mix. So far, the Academy has gone for the aesthetics of Eggers’ films over the acting, but you never know when a performance will catch on. It’s way too early to talk Oscars 2026 but keep Werewulf and ATJ in the back of your mind.

Here’s ATJ in Milan last night.