Nicolas Cage is gearing up to play Dracula in Universal’s upcoming film Renfield, according to a recent report from Deadline.
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The film is set to star Nicholas Hoult as Renfield, the familiar henchman of Dracula. Renfield will be directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War), with a script based on an original story outline from Robert Kirkman, who co-created The Walking Dead, Invincible, and many other comics for Image Comics.
In the original Dracula novel, R.M. Renfield was a servant of Dracula who is introduced as an inmate at a mental asylum. Initially thought to be suffering from delusions, it is later revealed that he is under the control of Dracula. It’s currently unclear how much of the original source material the upcoming film will draw from, but Deadline did report that the film is believed to be set in the “present day,” and will not be a period piece.
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For Cage, this will mark his next venture, as he’s currently in the process of filming the western Butcher’s Crossing. This year, Cage has starred in a handful of films, including Willy’s Wonderland, Prisoners of the Ghostland, and Pig, the latter of which earned him rave reviews for his performance in Michael Sarnoski’s film.
