Universal's next monster movie is in the works – a contemporary story centering on Dracula's henchman Renfield, directed by Chris McKay, Deadline reports.
In Bram Stoker's iconic gothic novel, R.M. Renfield is an inmate at an asylum – thought to be experiencing delusions, he was actually a servant of Dracula. McKay's movie will take place in the present day and will reportedly include a mix of humor and action.
The movie will be based on an original story by Robert Kirkman, the comic book writer best known for co-creating The Walking Dead, with a script by Ryan Ridley, who's previously written for TV shows like Community and Rick and Morty. McKay will direct and produce – Dexter Fletcher was previously in talks to helm the movie, but has since moved onto other projects.
McKay's directing credits include The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie. His latest title is The Tomorrow War, a sci-fi flick starring Chris Pratt, which is releasing on Amazon Prime in July.
After the success of 2020's Elisabeth Moss-led The Invisible Man, Universal has a number of other monster titles up its sleeves, including Wolfman, starring Ryan Gosling, and a Van Helsing movie produced by Aquaman director James Wan. Dracula seems to be an especially hot property at the moment, with Nomadland director Chloé Zhao also set to put her own spin on the vampire tale.
