Eternals Director Chloé Zhao Confirms She's Still Developing Her Dracula Film

By Patrick Cavanaugh

In the wake of the success of 2020's The Invisible Man, various projects were announced that would revive classic Universal Monsters, including the reveal that Eternals and Nomadland director Chloé Zhao was developing a new take on Dracula, which would blend together sci-fi and Western themes. In the years since that project was announced, few updates have been provided about when it would come to life, with Zhao herself recently confirming she's still working on the script. At this rate, if the script is completed this year, it could potentially go into production in 2023, yet with how many years it's been since the project was first announced, it might not be moving forward anytime soon.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter if her Dracula was still in the works, Zhao confirmed, "Yes, I'm writing the script right now."

Zhao's film was only one of two Dracula-themed movies that were announced in the wake of The Invisible Man's success, as director Karyn Kusama was also tapped to direct a project based on the character, which was expected to be a more straightforward take on the source material. Kusama's film, unfortunately, has since been scrapped by Blumhouse Productions, so even without many concrete updates over the years, audiences will likely be relieved to learn that Zhao's film is still in the works.

This latest update is one of the first since she discussed the project back in 2021.

"I love that you have the question mark at the end — a 'sci-fi Western'?" Zhao joked with Variety when addressing the unconventional description for the new film. "No, I like that. It's just like looking at Jessica Bruder's book [Nomadland], and to really see behind the pages, to discover the meanings behind each page and the essence of it. I'm a huge fan of the book. And I wanted to see what essence I can find [in Dracula], and then be able to reimagine this really beloved character I love so much."

Next month, audiences will see an all-new Dracula in the film Renfield, which follows the vampire's assistant, with Nicolas Cage bringing the iconic Count Dracula to life, while The Witch director Robert Eggers is currently shooting a remake of 1922's Nosferatu, which was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

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Stay tuned for updates on Zhao's Dracula.

Are you looking forward to the film? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars.

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