Eternals and Nomadland director Chloe Zhao has been speaking a little more about her in-development Dracula project.
Back in February, it was announced that Chloe Zhao had signed up to direct a Dracula project that will be part science-fiction film and part western. The project joins a line of promisingly different monster films green-lit by Universal in the wake of its Dark Universe’s (of planned horror films) failure, following tepid reviews and lukewarm fan response to its most recent, Tom Cruise-headlined The Mummy.
The new horror films that have arrived instead from the studio? Well, we’ve already enjoyed a dark thriller focusing on the psychological traumas of gaslighting, in Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man.
To add to that varied slate though, we have possibly of another exciting project. Chloe Zhao, director of the critically-adored Nomadland and helmer of the latest Marvel film Eternals, signed with Universal at the beginning of the year to tackle the biggest monster of them all, the vampiric Count Dracula.
Whilst we still don’t have any concrete details on the project, Zhao has revealed a few thoughts on the project, telling Variety what interests her most about the project: “a ‘sci-fi Western’? I like that”, she said. “It’s just like looking at Jessica Bruder’s book [Nomadland], and to really see behind the pages, to discover the meanings behind each page and the essence of it. I’m a huge fan of the book. And I wanted to see what essence I can find [in Dracula], and then be able to reimagine this really beloved character I love so much. I like complicated characters. That was a very important book for me. Immortality is something that started exploring on Eternals, but is something I want to question and understand”.
Zhao’s take promises to be as fresh as they come, combining science-fiction and western elements, with the director previously stating “I’ve always been fascinated by vampires and the concept of the Other they embody. I’m very excited to work with Donna [Langley], Peter [Cramer] and the team at Universal to reimagine such a beloved character.”
Zhao’s project joins several other Dracula films in development at Universal, with Dexter Fletcher working on a film that focuses on his assistant, currently titled Renfield, whilst Destroyer director Karyn Kusama is working on a separate project with Blumhouse. Not to mention the upcoming Last Voyage Of The Demeter, which sounds like Predator, but on a ship with Dracula as the monster. As soon as we hear more details on any of the projects mentioned above, we’ll let you know.
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