Though you can’t find a Renfield graphic novel, the Renfield trailer (and upcoming film) is not-so secretly from Skybound Entertainment. That’s right: The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman conceived this update on the Dracula mythos and produces with Skybound partner David Alpert. But Renfield looks a bit more like Battle Pope than The Walking Dead.
Exploring a dysfunctional boss/employee relationship, Renfield stars Nicholas Hoult as the titular Renfield, brought forward into modern day. With his master Dracula (Nicolas Cage), he’s now navigating the streets of New York City instead of the outskirts of London. And apparently, eating insects now grants him super-strength and reflexes. This is from the mind of the guy who created Invincible, after all. And it’s Nicolas Cage at his Cagiest.
It’s also an official Universal Studios movie. That means it could possibly — though maybe shouldn’t — restart the fabled Dark Universe. Officially, the studio has tried twice, first with Dracula Untold starring Luke Evans. When that bombed, they looked to Tom Cruise to save them with The Mummy, starting all over. Then that bombed, despite them laying out a full slate of films to bring all their classic monsters together into a shared universe. Because studio executives forgot that slowly, eventually, the original films became a shared universe, ending with Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Or maybe they ended with The Munsters, because that brought the Creature from the Black Lagoon into the fold as “Cousin Gil.”
With Renfield, Universal could reach back to another fun adventure and possibly reference The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. That was the last time we really had fun at the movies with the classic monsters. (The less said about Van Helsing the better.) Ignore the other attempts. Though maybe the recent revamp of The Invisible Man could connect, though it’s tonally very different.
Unless we’re being sold a bag of goods and Renfield is deadly serious. But I doubt it. We’ll find out for sure on April 14, 2023.
From Universal Studios:
Evil doesn’t span eternity without a little help.
In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.
Renfield is directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The LEGO Batman Movie) from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley (Ghosted series, Rick & Morty series), based on an original idea by The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman.
The film co-stars Awkwafina (The Farewell, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings), Ben Schwartz (Sonic, The Afterparty) and Adrian Martinez (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Focus).
Renfield is produced by Skybound Entertainment partners Robert Kirkman and David Alpert (The Walking Dead, Invincible), co-presidents Bryan Furst (Daybreakers) and Sean Furst (Daybreakers) and by Chris McKay. McKay’s producing partner Samantha Nisenboim (co-producer, The Tomorrow War) will executive produce.
Though you can’t find a comic book as source material, plenty of writers have tried to tell Renfield’s story. Just because I’ve always enjoyed her books, let me point you to Barbara Hambly’s Renfield, Slave of Dracula. It’s not the same plot, but it will be a good read.
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