There’s more to Dracula than Dracula. Early last month, we learned André Øvredal is in line to direct the long-gestating script ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter,’ and now, Universal Pictures revealed that ‘Eddie the Eagle’s Dexter Fletcher will direct ‘Renfield,’ a film about Dracula’s servant.
Fletcher, whose Elton John biopic ‘Rocketman’ released in May of this year, signed onto the project following a pitch made by ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Invincible’ creator Robert Kirkman. Further, Ryan Ridley (‘Community,’ ‘Rick & Morty’) will write the screenplay.
The announcement is part of Universal’s pledge to pull back on the once-planned Dark Universe. Now, the studio has pledged a focus to a more filmmaker-driven approach that will see individual filmmakers, such as Leigh Whannell (‘The Invisible Man’) and Paul Feig (‘Dark Army’), offer up their unique takes on the studio’s iconic monsters.
Dexter Fletcher was announced earlier this year as a director on ‘Sherlock Holmes 3,’ but this announcement, combined with Dwayne Johnson’s DC film ‘Black Adam’ taking its release date, has those plans in doubt. Perhaps Warner Bros. is waiting for director Guy Ritchie to free up his schedule to helm the threequel? (Right now he is filming ‘Cash Truck’ for MGM.)
In the original ‘Dracula’ novel, the character R.M. Renfield was an inmate at a lunatic asylum who was thought to be suffering from delusions, while actually being a servant of Dracula. Plot details are currently unknown, but Variety hears it will take place during the present day, therefore not a period piece.
No casting announcements have been made, but we will keep you posted in the future!
Source: Variety
Jacob Tyler contributed to this article.