Renfield: Nicholas Hoult is excited for people to see Nicolas Cage as Dracula

The legendary Nicolas Cage (check out the trailer for his new movie The Old Way) plays Dracula in the upcoming Universal Monsters movie Renfield, which is set to reach theatres on April 14, 2023 – and his co-star Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road) is excited for people to see what Cage has done with the role.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Hoult said, “Yeah, the second Nic Cage experience was incredible. I got to work with him when I was 14. I played his son in a movie called The Weather Man, and I felt so fortunate to be back on set with him because I’m such a fan of his. But to get to work with him whilst he was playing Dracula, I don’t think there’s two more iconic things than Dracula and Nic Cage. So, to put those together and be in scenes with him and just watch all the inspiration and all the things that he brings to the character, the fun of it, the dedication, his love for acting, I just loved every single moment. As a person, he’s such a pure soul to be around, and I’m excited for people to see what he’s done. It’s original, but it’s steeped in a lot of history, Dracula history and folklore. So it’s exciting, even though it’s a very bizarre, elevated tone for an action-comedy. So I’m excited for it.“

Based on a treatment written by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Renfield is directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War) from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley (Rick and Morty). In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, 

R.M. Renfield was an inmate at a lunatic asylum who was thought to be suffering from delusions but actually is a servant of Dracula. Plot details of the movie weren’t announced, but it’s believed to take place during the present day and is not a period piece.

In this film, Renfield has been serving the bloodsucker for centuries, and now he

has grown sick and tired of his centuries as Dracula’s lackey. The henchman finds a new lease on life life and maybe even redemption when he falls for feisty, perennially angry traffic cop Rebecca Quincy.

Cage and Hoult are joined in the cast by Awkwafina as traffic cop Rebecca Quincy, Adrian Martinez as her traffic cop partner Chris, Shohreh Aghdashloo as a feared crime lord named Ella, Bess Rous as “people in toxic relationships” support group member Caitlyn, and James Moses Black and Ben Schwartz in unspecified roles.

While Universal is developing several monster projects, they were excited to get Renfield into production first. According to Deadline, the story’s “mix of humor and action was something the studio was looking for because so many of the other properties have more of a horror element to them.” 

Kirkman, who has described the film as “a violent comedy”, is producing Renfield with David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst of Skybound Entertainment, alongside McKay’s producing partner Samantha Nisenboim.

Are you looking forward to seeing Nicolas Cage as Dracula in Renfield? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.