There's an untitled Dracula project in the works at Blumhouse Productions, and Karyn Kusama has just signed on to direct the film – which is great news as far as I'm concerned, because I'm a fan of Kusama's previous two genre features, JENNIFER'S BODY and THE INVITATION. JENNIFER'S BODY especially, I love that movie.
The screenplay for this Dracula story is being written by Kusama's THE INVITATION and DESTROYER collaborators Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay.
It seems sensible to jump to the conclusion that this project is going to end up at Universal and serve as the studio's reboot of their classic DRACULA property, but it should be noted that this is not set up at any studio right now. It could go to Universal, Blumhouse has a first-look deal with them and just helped them bring THE INVISIBLE MAN into the 21st century, but it might not. So we'll have to wait and see.
The Count Dracula character was created by Bram Stoker in his 1897 novel “Dracula” as the vampire moved from Transylvania to England and battled with Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The character was memorably portrayed by Bela Lugosi in Universal’s “Dracula” in 1931. Luke Evans played the vampire in 2014’s “Dracula Untold,” which grossed $217 million worldwide for Universal.
All that is currently known about Manfredi and Hay's Dracula tale is that it takes place in modern day.
We'll be keeping a close eye on this one as it moves forward.