Eternals co-writer/director Chloé Zhao teases her return to development on her sci-fi Western take on Bram Stoker’s Gothic horror novel Dracula. Zhao first broke out in the film industry with her work in the independent genre, most notably the 2017 contemporary Western The Rider and her Oscar-winning work on the adaptation of Nomadland. Zhao most recently made her blockbuster debut as the co-writer and director of the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film chapter Eternals, which hit theaters earlier this month to mixed reviews from critics and a modest box office gross of over $341 million against its $200 million production budget.
First published in 1897, Dracula is considered one of the greatest pieces of English literature and a major work in the Gothic horror and vampire genres, with its titular Transylvanian noble and Professor Abraham Van Helsing now the archetypes for vampire and vampire hunters. The novel has spawned countless film and TV adaptations over the years, some of the most notable being the 1932 Dracula starring Bela Lugosi and Bram Stoker’s Dracula from Francis Ford Coppola and led by Gary Oldman in the titular role. Multiple new adaptations of Dracula are currently in the various stages of development and one may be picking up new steam.
A few weeks after her MCU debut hit theaters, Eternals‘ Zhao has taken to Instagram to tease her return to development on her sci-fi Western Dracula adaptation. The writer/director shared a vintage photo of a Nosferatu-like being sat upon a horse with a caption of an emoji of a glass of red wine. Check out Zhao’s post below:
Click here to see the original post
Zhao’s Dracula adaptation marks one of five adaptations of Stoker’s Gothic horror novel in the works at Universal Pictures. Other projects in development include a more faithful take from Karyn Kusama at Blumhouse, the more comedic Renfield starring Nicholas Hoult from Robert Kirkman, a Monster Mash musical film and Last Voyage of the Demeter from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark‘s André Øvredal. The Eternals filmmaker’s approach to the material did come as the most curious of the bunch upon its announcement earlier this year with Zhao bringing a sci-fi Western take to the novel.
The Oscar winner’s tease of returning to development on her Dracula adaptation falls right in line with her specific genre angle for the film. Though sci-fi and Western may sound very left field for translating Stoker’s novel to screen, Zhao found large critical acclaim with her first three feature projects, all of which held some roots within the latter genre. While Zhao’s image hinting towards her Dracula getting back into development doesn’t indicate any clear timeline on when new updates will come for the film, her seeming confirmation of returning to the project should come as exciting news for those eager to see the unique twist on Stoker’s novel.
