Willem Dafoe may be visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in the next Robert Eggers film.

Eggers, who directed Nosferatu and The Lighthouse, frequently collaborates with Dafoe, so it won’t be a shock if, as insiders are predicting, the actor is cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in Eggers’ upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

According to Deadline, Eggers is working with Warner Bros., and reportedly is writing the script with Dafoe in mind as Scrooge – though they point out that no talent is officially attached to the film. However, they report that Chris Columbus and Elenor Columbus are attached to produce.

This will be the umpteenth version of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol; the first time it was made for the big screen was in 1901 and since that time actors such as Alastair Sim, Albert Finney, Michael Caine (with a cast of Muppets), Scrooge McDuck, Daffy Duck, Susan Lucci, and Bill Murray playing Scrooge.

Nosferatu was the biggest box office hit of Eggers’ career, bringing in $181 million worldwide including $95 million domestically, and scored with critics as well, winning four technical Oscar nominations. The next release from Eggers will be Werwulf for Focus Features, which he plans to shoot later this year.