'Eden' director reveals real dangers Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby faced on set

Director Ron Howard had a daring cast for his movie Eden, which was shot on real locations with critters and worse, snakes!

Eden stars Sydney Sweeney as Margret Wittmer, who gave birth alone in a cave at the Galápagos island of Floreana. The movie also stars Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby as a couple living in isolation on the island. Daniel Brühl plays Sweeney’s husband. Meanwhile, Ana de Armas plays an heiress called The Baroness, who’s supported by two young hunks Felix Kammerer and Toby Wallace. The movie follows a power struggle between the three groups for dominance over the island.

Howard reflected on how Eden is based on the real story of settlers of Floreana, saying: “What was chilling about this story is that a handful of people went there and half of them either died or vanished—and that’s intense. That’s like a season of Survivor where people really don’t make it.”

The director revealed: “We were on a really tight budget and schedule on a movie that had no cover sets—we built all of our sets on location. Our only cover was to shoot real f**king fast when we had the good weather.”

He went on to reveal that the production team had to scout locations for poisonous snakes everyday, and “found them every day in our locations, with all the actors barefoot out here running around.”

Despite the dangers, Law and Kirby kept insisting on living at the location, but the director couldn't allow that.

“They kept wanting to live in their [characters’] house there, and they were so upset with us that we just kept saying, ‘No, we’re here all day, but you just can’t do that because there are critters that are going to want to join you,’” Howard said.

Sharing more about the shoot, de Armas said: “It was rough. It was a long shoot. We had a lot to do. There was no time for breaks. There was nothing luxurious about the shoot or the set or the environment.”

But The Holiday star Law was very much at home in the natural environment. He said: “I’ve never been one to feel uncomfortable in that environment—I’ve always enjoyed living outdoors.”

Eden premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024.