Blumhouse Developing New Dracula Film with Jennifer’s Body Director

After the recent success of the Invisible Man reboot, Blumhouse is preparing to further expand the world of Universal Monsters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is currently setting up – and aiming to produce – a new take on Dracula. The film would be directed by Karyn Kusama, whose filmography includes Destroyer, Jennifer’s Body, and Aeon Flux. Like Invisible Man, the film would reportedly take place in the present-day. The Dracula script is reportedly being written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, who have previously worked with Kusama on films like Destroyer and The Invitation.

While Dracula is technically in the public domain, the project is expected to ultimately be housed at Universal, which has a first-look deal with Blumhouse and regards the monster to be one of its most iconic horror characters. If the film does come to fruition, it would be part of the studio’s story-driven new approach to the Universal Monsters, after the ill-fated introduction of the “Dark Universe” in 2017. The Marvel Cinematic Universe-like franchise would have seen the monsters ultimately uniting after starring in their own solo films, but the idea fizzled out after the poor box office reception of The Mummy.

Now that Invisible Man has been well-received by critics and fans alike, horror fans have wondered if and when Blumhouse would develop another one of the Universal properties.

“I would love to,” Jason Blum said in a previous interview. “I’ve had some version of this conversation. Not a serious one. I would say to Universal, ‘What monsters are available that I could play around with?’ I would send those things to our seven favorite filmmakers. But I’m not going to talk to Universal until The Invisible Man comes out.”

This is just one of several Universal Monster-related projects that the studio has in the works, including Paul Feig’s Dark Army movie, and projects involving Elizabeth Banks and John Krasinski.

“They have multiple irons in the fire, but not all will become real,” one agent familiar with the studio’s plans said in the report.

“It’s a ‘best idea wins’ approach,” one producer explained, “and they are having the filmmakers find the individual stories.”

What do you think of Universal developing another Dracula movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!