Robert Eggers is set to write and direct a sequel to the 1986 fantasy Labyrinth.

According to Deadline, the Nosferatu director has just closed a deal to follow up the Jim Henson-directed film for Tristar Pictures. The original starred Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie.

Eggers’s take on Nosferatu became a surprise box office hit after its release at the end of last year, making $156m worldwide to date. Today also saw the film over-perform with the Academy, scoring four Oscar nominations for cinematography, production design, costume design, and makeup and hairstyling.

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it “an elaborate, detailed love letter to the original, intelligently respectful and faithful”.

The writer-director, whose credits also include The Witch and The Northman, has also just announced his immediate follow-up, a 13th-century thriller called Werwulf. The film, reportedly set in England, is aiming for a Christmas 2026 release.

While Labyrinth was a critical and commercial disappointment at the time, it has since gained a loyal following.

There have been attempts to make a sequel before with directors such as Alien Romulus’s Fede Alvarez and Doctor Strange’s Scott Derrickson involved. In December, Jeff Sneider broke news that Eggers was to be attached to a new take.

When asked about it before Thursday’s news was confirmed, Eggers said: “The thing is, I always have a ton of things in development because you need to survive in this industry, and you don’t know what is going to hit next. But I definitely want the next film I make to be an original movie.”

Details on Eggers’s take are unknown but Connelly, who was just 16 at the time of release, has expressed interest in returning for previous iterations of the sequel.

Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus will be producing alongside Lisa Henson, the CEO of the Jim Henson Company.