Count Dracula has been filmed more times than practically any other character, but new movies and TV shows are being made about him all the time. Right now, for instance, Universal is at work on a very different take on the vampire’s storyline in Renfield, as directed by The Tomorrow War‘s Chris McKay and written by Ryan Ridley. As the title makes clear, this film will focus on Dracula’s loyal, fly-eating servant.
Renfield actually comes from an idea by The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman, who continues to be involved in the project as a producer. During his recent Comic-Con@Home panel over the weekend, Kirkman was asked whether Dracula himself will be in the flick and he confirmed that the Count is actually a “big part” of the story.
“Will Dracula be in it? Absolutely! The whole plot is that Renfield is, you know, Dracula’s servant and decides that he doesn’t want to be a servant anymore. It’s that conflict that kind of drives the story. So yeah, Dracula’s actually a big part of the movie. Who will play him? Can’t say. Wish I could.”
We weren’t really in any doubt that Drac wouldn’t appear in Renfield, but it’s intriguing to hear from Kirkman that the undead aristocrat will still be a major driving force of the film, despite not having his name in the title this time. Renfield’s due his time in the spotlight, though, seeing as he’s been depicted almost as many times as his master. Most recently, Mark Gatiss played him in 2020’s Dracula miniseries.
As Kirkman’s comments suggest, Renfield isn’t an adaptation that will take itself totally seriously, with the producer previously describing it as an “extremely violent comedy”. Remember, Universal is also producing two more competing Dracula titles – Karyn Kusama’s “fairy faithful” take and Chloe Zhao’s “futuristic sci-fi western”. Renfield is the furthest along, though no casting has yet been announced.
