I haven’t been brushing up on my DRACULA YEAR ZERO news lately but apparently this thing has been trying to get off the ground for quite some time. Commercial helmer Gary Shore was originally in negotiations to direct the film and seems to still be on board. THR reports that the film has actually found its lead star in Luke Evans (THE RAVEN) and not only that but it has officially gotten the all important green light and will start shooting this year. They have also reported that the flick has actually changed its title to now be called simply DRACULA and will tell the origin story of the most famous of vampires. Might be pretty decent!
The script tells of a young prince who, when the lives of his wife and child are put in danger by a bloodthirsty sultan, risks his soul to save them, and in the process becomes the first vampire.
The latest draft of the script was written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless with Michael De Luca producing. It’s pretty crazy that a project that seemed all but dead can come out of nowhere and snag a great actor like Luke Evans and get rolling as soon as this year. Very cool!