Sharpen your stakes, stock up on garlic at the grocery store, and be sure to charge your UV lights, because Netflix's DRACULA trailer is here to sink its fangs into your tender flesh before the series' Friday, January 4 premiere.
Written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the dynamic duo behind the Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman-starring SHERLOCK, DRACULA stars Claes Bang (THE SQUARE, THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB) as the title character for this new spin on Bram Stoker's classic character born of shadow and sin.
“I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the team responsible for Sherlock,” said Bang in a previous statement with regard to portraying one of history's most feared and beloved monsters of both fiction and film. “I’m so excited that I get to dig in to this iconic and super-interesting character. Yes he’s evil, but there’s also so much more to him, he’s charismatic, intelligent, witty and sexy. I realise that there’s a lot to live up to with all the amazing people that have played him over the years, but I feel so privileged, to be taking on this incredible character.”
In the trailer, we find Bang's Dracula arriving as a gentlemanly creature of the night, dressed to the nines and ready to drink the blood of those who succumb to his devilsh charms. As the footage plays on, we're also introduced to a number of classic characters hailing from Stoker's time-honored tale of terror, including Jonathan (John Heffernan) and Mina Harker (Morfydd Clark). Oh, but introductions don't stop there. In time we're also meant to witness an order of nuns whose mission it is to slay the blood-sucking beast. Meanwhile, a character that looks an awful lot like Renfield – a corrupted man hellbent on absorbing the life-energy of living things – sits in a padded cell, awaiting his chance to rejoin his master Dracula.
Joining Bang for the series are Dolly Wells as Sister Agatha; Morfydd Clark as Mina Harker; John Heffernan as Jonathan Harker; and Joanna Scanlan as Mother Superior as members of the main cast.
DRACULA has already had its BBC One premiere in the UK and will rise from the grave on Netflix on Friday, January 4th.