While the ‘Nomadland’ director’s creature feature is described as a ‘futuristic sci-fi western’ adaptation, the ‘Destroyer’ helmer will stick to modern day reality; both projects to be produced under the Universal banner.
Riding the high of her Golden Globe nomination for Nomadland, Chloe Zhao has set her sights on a new IP: Dracula. In an interesting twist, the film is described as a “futuristic sci-fi western” adaptation, quite a distance from the original film’s late 1800s setting. Remember Winona in a bustle and Keanu’s “accent?” Good times.
Zhao isn’t the only director jumping on the iconic vampire train. Back when we announced Universal was set to reboot the original creature feature into modern Monsterverse times, we had no idea the studio would actually be producing two competing films. Apparently, Blumhouse is making their own modern day Dracula film with director Karyn Kusama of Destroyer and Aeon Flux fame. At this point, we’re team Kusama. While Zhao is a talented director, the “sci-fi western” vampire premise screams Blade to us, and we don’t know if that’s a good thing.
In an interview with Variety, Zhao explains, “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.”
Neither Dracula has a current release date.
Cybersecurity specialist by day, investigative journalist by night.
