Fang-tastic news: Nicolas Cage will star as the vampire Dracula in the new Universal monster movie Renfield. It’s named for R. M. Renfield, an inmate at a lunatic asylum who becomes the count’s henchman in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Dracula.
As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Renfield will be played by Nicholas Hoult (The Great), with direction from Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War). Like vampires themselves, plot details are being kept in the dark, and it’s unclear how the film will build a story around Renfield, or whether we’ll see other original characters like Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, or the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing. But Renfield‘s script comes from comedy vet Ryan Ridle (Rick and Morty), from an outline by The Walking Dead‘s Robert Kirkman, so be ready for a bloody good time.
Cage last took a bite out of vampire movies with 1989’s Vampire’s Kiss, although in 2012, he was forced to deny rumors that he’s a blood-drinking time traveler. He’s recently starred in the bonkers Prisoners of the Ghostland, fought Satanic puppets in Willy’s Wonderland, and stunned audiences in Pig. But with the exception of voiceover work, he’s mostly avoided large movie studios since 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Renfield represents his second life in big budget flicks. He’s already an actor that will stop at necks to nothing, and however his Dracula turns out, we doubt it will leave us cold.
Related Video
Revisit our ranking of 15 essential Nicolas Cage movies now.
