The sons of legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing are getting the spin-off treatment from the main Dracula story.
Never mind that he’s been around since 1897, Count Dracula has never been hotter it seems. Despite not getting a major solo release himself since 2014’s Dracula Untold – itself the first abortive attempt at launching Universal’s Dark Universe – the Count is currently playing host to several intriguing spin-off films.
As well Chris McKay’s Renfield, a planned psychological drama based on Dracula’s crazed servant, there’s also Last Voyage Of The Demeter, Andre Øvredal’s take on a single chapter of Bram Stoker’s book, where the vampire preys on the unwitting crew of the Demeter as he travels by sea to England.
Now, we have yet another Dracula spin-off in the works in the form of Abraham’s Boys, a planned film based on the story by Joe Hill. Lucky director Natasha Kermani has been tapped to helmthe film, which follows ‘follows Max and Rudy Van Helsing, who know nothing of their father Abraham’s past and cannot understand his overprotective attitude and strange behaviour. To make matters worse, Abraham is becoming increasingly more unhinged, paranoid, and violent.’
We’re certainly intrigued by this development, especially as a darker take on the Van Helsing character seems long overdue following Hugh Jackman’s action hero turn in 2004 and Anthony Hopkins’ scenery-chewing performance in 1992 (although we remain very keen on the latter indeed).
Kermani had this to say about the project: “I’ve always loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula and was immediately drawn to Joe Hill’s unique and personal take on the legend of Van Helsing, Abraham’s Boys is an exciting opportunity to look at a familiar story through a new lens, and to explore classic characters and themes in a contemporary way.”
We’ll bring you more news on this one as we hear more.
