There were rumors that Alex Proyas was in the running to direct James Bond 22, but I like this news much much better as Variety reports Proyas is set to helm Dracula Year Zero for Universal Pictures as they rev up to bring their classic monster stories back to the big screen.
The story is described as an origin tale about Vlad the Impaler with a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Proyas sparked to their script enthused about their “fresh take on the legend.” He said the project manages to play off the horror and the sympathy you have for a character that “sells his soul to the Devil to save his kingdom and family.”
It seems as if this is successful it could go a long way as it won’t be only a blood-sucking tale, but an attempt to show Vlad when he was still vital and to explore the fact that he’s considered a hero in Romania for fending off the Turks.
“Usually when you see him, he’s past his prime and 100 years old,” Sazama told Variety.
“In our movie, he’s at the height of his powers,” Sharpless added.
Why be excited about Proyas as the helmer? Well, have you seen Dark City or The Crow? This guy has mood and atmosphere nailed and I think this is right up his alley.
As far as the Universal monsters go this will be the third film in the works as Rob Cohen is directing The Mummy 3 set to release on July 18, 2008 and Benicio Del Toro is starring in The Wolf Man set for a November 14, 2008 release with Mark Romanek directing.
Variety points out that there are a couple of other Dracula pics coming up with The Historian, a contemporary book about the search for Vlad the Impaler’s grave that Brad Caleb Kane is adapting for Sony’s Red Wagon shingle, and Castlevania, an adaptation of a popular vidgame for which Rogue recently signed up director Sylvain White.
