Luc Besson will helm a movie based on Dracula titled Dracula – A Love Tale, dubbed “a big-budget reimagining” of the character. It will star Christoph Waltz and Caleb Landry Jones, who starred in Besson’s Dogman, which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival.
While little is actually known about Luc Besson’s Dracula movie, Deadline did report that it “has an origin story element to it exploring in a little more depth the gothic romance between Prince Vladimir and his wife whose loss turns him to forsake God and become a vampire.” It, too, is expected to have “some epic and potentially spectacular set pieces.”
The news comes out of the European Film Market, the trade fair held during the Berlin Film Festival. While Besson has never won Berlin’s top honor, the Golden Bear, his Dogman did make a splash at Venice, receiving a standing ovation despite the controversy surrounding his invitation. It would also be nominated for the Golden Lion. For those unfamiliar with the plot, here is the official writeup: “Having just been arrested, Douglas opens his heart to tell the moving story of his life. As a survivor of childhood trauma, with a violent father who forces him to live in the family kennel, he develops a bond with dogs that defies understanding. Out of this hell, he grows to discover love, theatre, and cabaret, but also the injustice and disillusionment of the human world. In a life that’s been broken a thousand times, only the love of his dogs can bring salvation.”
Count Dracula – and variations of – is generally believed to be the most portrayed character in movie/TV history, going back to the silent era. Some of the most recent depictions were by Nicolas Cage in Renfield and Javier Botet in The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Bram Stoker’s original novel was published in 1897; nearly 130 years later, it remains a classic of gothic literature.
The Berlin Film Festival is set to conclude on February 25th.
Are you excited for a Dracula movie directed by Luc Besson? Who has portrayed the character the best over the years? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.