‘Grendel’ – Preview the Live Action Movie’s Monster Design from The Jim Henson Company

The classic tale of Beowulf and Grendel is coming back to the big screen in a new live action movie from The Jim Henson Company titled Grendel, and The Hollywood Reporter ran a fresh preview piece this afternoon that gives us a first look at the upcoming project.

The upcoming live action movie from director Robert D. Krzykowski will adapt the same-titled 1971 novel from John Gardner, with Jeff Bridges starring as Grendel alongside Dave Bautista as Beowulf, and Bryan Cranston as King Hrothgar.

The cast also includes Thomasin McKenzie as Queen Wealhtheow, Aidan Turner as Unferth and T Bone Burnett as the Shaper, “who will also provide original songs for the film.”

The source material for the movie, THR notes, “retells the epic poem from the perspective of the monster Grendel, who terrorizes the kingdom of Hrothgar of the Danes for 12 years.”

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop is handling the creature work for the movie, set to begin filming next year, and THR also shares a sneak peek at the concept design for the titular monster.

The director tells THR, “We wanted him to be frightening, and you’d believe that he’d be able to take on all of these warriors. So that felt like he needed to move into the mode of — you want to create a classic movie monster, an unforgettable movie monster.”

Check out the design below and head over to The Hollywood Reporter to learn more.