André Øvredal to helm Dracula tale The Last Voyage of the Demeter

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Well, it's officially October, so what better way to kick off this month of spookiness than with a little news about the prince of darkness himself, Dracula. THR has reported that THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, a project which has been stuck in development hell for a number of years, is now back on track with a new director at the helm.

André Øvredal, the director best known for TROLLHUNTER and SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, is now in negotiations to helm THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER for Amblin Partners. In Bram Stoker's classic novel, the Demeter was the name of the ship which transported Dracula from Transylvania to London. The film, which was originally scripted by Bragi Schut (SEASON OF THE WITCH) back in 2002, will tell the tale of that journey, during which the crew was slaughtered one by one by a mysterious passenger. This project has been through various hands over the years, including Neil Marshall (THE DESCENT) and David Slade (30 DAYS OF NIGHT), so I've got my fingers crossed that the third time will be the charm.

Before André Øvredal tackles THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER, he'll likely set his sights on THE LONG WALK, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. The story is set in a future dystopian America ruled over by a militaristic dictator, and the "Long Walk" is an annual contest in which 100 teenagers must keep a steady pace of at least four miles an hour under strict rules until only one of them is left alive. The winner receives "The Prize": anything they want for the rest of their life. "The Long Walk" follows Raymond Garraty, a 16-year-old Pownal, Maine, as well as a group of other teenagers with good, bad, and mysterious intentions  André Øvredal has previously said that he believes the tale is filled with relatable themes. "As a director, it’s extremely inspiring to be able to tell a story that is so human and so gruesome at the same time. It’s like man vs. the machine in a way, and about the innocence of these boys and how they don’t really grasp what they’ve gotten themselves into until it’s way too late," Øvredal said. "I’m in awe of Stephen King for having understood so much about humanity at the age of 18 or 19 when he wrote this. It’s an adult story, but written with a young person’s perspective, probably of the Vietnam War; it’s kind of an allegory, I’m guessing, for his fears of being sent to Vietnam at the time."