Yes you read that headline correctly, Nicolas Cage has signed on to play Dracula in the spin-off film Renfield.
The film will pull focus away from the iconic Monster with his loyal henchman Renfield taking centre stage. Universal has been developing the film for the last several months based off an original pitch from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Ryan Ridley penned the script and Chris McKay is on board to direct.
In an interesting turn of events, the film has pulled in a great cast thus far. Nicholas Hoult has signed on to play the title character Renfield with Awkafina also set to star (although her role has yet to be revealed). And finally in an unexpected turn of events Nicolas Cage has signed on to play one of the most famous monsters in cinematic history- Count Dracula. It will mark Cage's first role in a big studio film in several years after he took a step back to tackle different lead roles in several independant films.
Renfield first appeared in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula as a patient in an asylum obsessed with drinking blood, deluded into thinking he will find immortality. He bows at the feet of the Count as he teases him with the reward of everlasting life for his years of servitude.
Dwight Frye starred as Renfield in the 1931 Universal Monsters.
The character has been imortalised on film over the years throughout various adaptations, however this will be the first time he has taken centre stage in his very own film. Nothing has been announced yet in rehards to plot details and they are currently being kept under wraps. The project, however, is described as a modern-day adventure story that is comedic in tone.
Since the collapse of the original 'Dark Universe' and the success of Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man, Universal is committed to creating filmmaker-driven projects based on characters from the studio’s vast monsters legacy. Instead of prescribing a mandated updating of these monster stories and making them all part of a larger scheme, the studio loosened these restrictions and open-sourced to filmmakers, who were inspired to create their own unique stories.
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