Why The Northman Trailer Has Fans So Divided

Robert Eggers, the director behind "The Witch" and "The Lighthouse," is back with arguably his most ambitious project to date. "The Northman" foregoes the filmmaker's traditional horror stylizations to present a tale of revenge and violence. 

As shown in the trailer, "The Northman" follows Amleth, a young boy who witnesses the tragic demise of his father at the hands of his uncle. The boy sets out on a path of vengeance, becoming stronger and more bloodthirsty than any Viking has seen before. It's not until he becomes a man, as played by Alexander Skarsgård, that he returns to the village to take his rightful place as ruler of his people. 

The film already has a lot of supporters. All you have to do is go to the comment section of the trailer's YouTube page to find copious words of praise, like "Finally a movie trailer that makes me want to actually go to the theater to see it in true epic fashion" and "I absolutely love the costume design." There's a lot to enjoy with this trailer, but some moviegoers have pointed out some seemingly problematic aspects of the film as a whole. 

"The Northman" doesn't release in theaters until April 22, 2022, but that isn't stopping several people online from criticizing the film already. These are readily accessible underneath the trailer's post on Twitter, and the one that has garnered the most attention comes from @mel_med_larson, writing, "So his love interest is twenty years younger than him but his Mother is ten years older? Got it. Please stop doing this Hollywood." 

The issue stems from Alexander Skarsgård being 45 years old in real life, while Nicole Kidman, who plays his mother in the film, is currently 54. Then there's the matter of the love interest being played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who's only 25. Others were quick to jump to the casting choices' defenses, like @The1wiggin: "It's a movie...entertainment."

Other individuals took umbrage with the movie trailer for a different reason. @dcryp_t stated, "The most exhausted genre in Hollywood right now is back with another Viking movie literally no one asked for, you're welcome." Of course, given all the positive feedback the film's trailer received, it's safe to say the Viking genre isn't fully exhausted just yet. It remains to be seen if these criticisms ultimately will tank the film's commercial prospects, but it looks like plenty of people will go to check it out when it comes out on April 22.