Two years have gone by since it was announced that Eternals director Chloé Zhao had set up a Dracula project at Universal Pictures, one which was described as being “an original, futuristic, sci-fi Western” take on the Dracula concept, with “themes of being on society’s fringes“. But since we haven’t heard much about Zhao’s Dracula movie over the last two years, and given the fact that Universal has made two other Dracula projects since then – the horror comedy Renfield, which is set to reach theatres on April 14th and stars Nicolas Cage as Dracula, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which is scheduled for an August 11th theatrical release and is a feature adaptation of one chapter from Bram Stoker’s Dracula – it would be understandable if you thought Zhao’s Dracula project had been scrapped. Or if you forgot it had even been announced in the first place. But during a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zhao has confirmed that she’s still working on it.
When asked if her Dracula movie is still in development, Zhao answered, “Yes, I’m writing the script right now.“
Zhao has previously said she was looking at Stoker’s Dracula “to really see behind the pages, to discover the meanings behind each page and the essence of it. I’m a huge fan of the book. And I wanted to see what essence I can find (in Dracula), and then be able to reimagine this really beloved character I love so much. … I like complicated characters.” Zhao said that Dracula is a very important book for her, and “immortality is something that I started exploring on Eternals, but is something I want to question and understand.“
Are you interested in seeing Chloé Zhao’s Dracula movie, and are you glad to hear that it’s still in the works? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below. I’m very curious to see how this “futuristic, sci-fi Western” take on Dracula is going to turn out. Since it’s described as being “original”, it seems like it won’t be a direct adaptation of Stoker’s novel, but rather a story that imagines how Dracula would exist in a very different setting.
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