Alexander Skarsgård Boards Gothic Horror ‘The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands’ by ‘Clara Sola’ Director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén (EXCLUSIVE)
Swedish-born Hollywood star Alexander Skarsgård who hasn’t played in a Scandinavian feature in more than a decade is toplining the gothic horror pic “The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands,” the English-language debut of Swedish-Costa-Rican writer-director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, to be delivered in May 2026.
Currently in production, “The Wolf…” is Mesén’s sophomore feature after the multi-awarded “Clara Sola” which debuted at the 2021 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and bowed in the U.S. via Oscilloscope.
Co-penned by Mesén with acclaimed Icelandic novelist, poet and screenwriter Sjón, credited for Skarsgård’s vehicle “The Northman” and the Cannes Un Certain Regard “Lamb,” “The Wolf…” deepens Mesén’s “signature blend of intimate character work and magic realism, expanding it into a darker, more haunting period world,” said an official statement.
In a challenging new role for Skarsgård, currently making a splash on screens in Harry Lighton’s “Pillion,” the Golden Globe winning actor plays a British widower in the 1880s Pacific Northwest, who hires a Native American governess, educated in a Christian mission school, to teach his two daughters. “While preparing the eldest for an arranged marriage, a force within her begins to awaken, threatening everything she has been taught,” runs the logline.
Indigenous Canadian actress Darla Contois, winner of a Canadian Screen Award for the drama series “Little Bird,” has landed the role of the governess, while the two daughters are played by British actress Bronte Carmichael (“Star Wars: Andor,” “Christopher Robin”) and the young Australian Lily La Torre (“Run Rabbit Run”). Rounded out the cast are Native American actor Forrest Goodluck (“The Revenant,” “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”) and Swedish star actress Pernilla August (“Star Wars”, “The Best Intentions”).
“I feel incredibly lucky to work with a cast who dive into their roles with such generosity, playfulness, and openness. Collaborating with such a talented group of people from all around the world has been a privilege,” said Mesén. “Darla embodies Isabel with visceral emotional depth, and Alexander portrays the father with a truth and volatility that ground the story. I can’t wait for the film to reach audiences!”
Speaking earlier to Variety about the long-gestated project and digging deeper into its core, the 37-year-old director said the story discusses “how to break free from patriarchal structures and if you can decolonize your own body, if not for yourself, for the sake of future generations.”
“As someone who’s worked with myth and folk stories in novels, songs and screenplays, I was immediately fascinated by Nathalie’s command of bringing to the screen something as difficult as the shifting borders between the inner and outer reality of her film’s protagonist” offered Sjón, who added “some dark Northern lyricism to Nathalie’s warm Latin American poetry.”
Completing the stellar creative team are some of Europe’s biggest heads of department: French cinematographer Hélène Louvart (“La Chimera,” “Pina”), Belgian editor and regular Dardenne brothers collaborator Marie-Hélène Dozo (“Young Ahmed,” “Six Days in Spring”), Swedish production designer Lina Nordqvist (“Holy Spider,” “Borg Vs McEnroe”) and Icelandic costume designer Margrét Einarsdóttir (“Lamb,” “King & Conqueror”).
“The Wolf…” marks a major milestone for producer Nima Yousefi, CEO of Sweden’s prestige boutique outfit Hobab, credited for the Venice Horizons winner “Paradise Burning” and co-producer of the 2025 Oscar nominated “The Apprentice”. The seasoned executive, who’s been shepherding Mesén for a decade, said her “distinctive voice” displayed in “Clara Sola,” billed by Variety reviewer Jessica Kiang as a ‘spellbinding debut,” is why he was able to assemble such a prestigious creative team and complex multi-territory financing.
Indeed, on “The Wolf,” international partners on board include Resolve Media in the U.S., European co-producers Quiddity Films in the U.K., Need Productions in Belgium and Still Vivid in Iceland. The mix of soft and private-sector finance was raised via Film i Väst, SVT, VOO, OBE & Be tv, Proximus, Shelter Prod, Tint, Finite Films, Northern Ireland Screen, the British Film Institute’s UK Global Screen Fund, Eurimages, Creative Europe, the Swedish Film Institute, the Film and Audiovisual Center of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Screen Brussels, Taxshelter.be & ING, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal government, the Icelandic Film Centre, the Icelandic Tax Credit, and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
The non-disclosed-substantial budget allowed him to give Mesén the means to her filmic ambition. Location scouting before development spanned 15 countries before Belfast in Northern Ireland was picked for the bulk of principal photography. “Nature in Belfast is actually quite similar to Pacific Northwest with tempered rainforest,” Yousefi told Variety.
One of the main challenges, he said, was building the British widower’s house – both the exteriors and interiors on location. “That has given the film a true authenticity where you go in and out of the house seamlessly,” added the producer who praised the collaborative work of Mesén with the HOD from an early stage.
“What was key for us, was to protect Nathalie’s vision and give her full creative freedom. This is what we can achieve within the European funding model,” said the producer, as the team prepares in Sweden for the last two-day-shoot in the Göteborg area and post-production work including VFX.
The Swedish release will be handled by leading arthouse banner TriArt, while international distribution will soon be unveiled, said Yousefi .
