Chloe Zhao’s Dracula Movie Is Still in Development

Eternals director Chloe Zhao is still working on that Dracula movie that was first announced in 2021. At that time, it was reported that Zhao was working on a new film about the iconic vampire, and that her vision for the Count came with a twist. Her take on the legendary Bram Stoker story will reimagine Dracula as a “futuristic sci-fi western.” Zhao was on board to produce the film in addition to directing and penning the script.

With not much else to go on with the sci-fi Dracula film, its future had been unclear. Last year, a separate version of Dracula that focused more on Mina Harker was also in development with director Karyn Kusama when it was suddenly canceled just weeks ahead of production. But that doesn’t mean that Zhao’s Dracula movie is dead, as she confirms in a new THR interview that she’s still actively working on that project.

“Yes, I’m writing the script right now,” she said.

In a 2021 interview with Variety, Zhao had provided some more details about her Dracula film. The Oscar-winning Nomadland director said how she likes to explore complicated characters, and in Count Dracula, she had an idea that would her to do so with the classic vampire in a new and unique way.

“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,” Zhao explained. “I like complicated characters. That was a very important book for me. Immortality is something that started exploring on Eternals, but is something I want to question and understand.”

Related: How Nicolas Cage Can Deliver the Greatest Modern Dracula Performance In Renfield

There’s More Dracula Where That Came From

The Count Dracula character continues to appear in various adaptations to this day, putting Zhao’s version in good company. Two new movies featuring the vampire will be released this year, with the horror-comedy Renfield first up. That film primarily focuses on Dracula’s henchman Renfield, played by Nicholas Hoult, though Nicolas Cage also stars as the Count himself. The Chris McKay-helmed movie, which picks up with Renfield hoping to part ways with Dracula, will hit theaters on April 14.

Director André Øvredal will also be releasing his Dracula adaptation, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, on Aug. 11. That film focuses on one specific chapter of the original Bram Stoker novel, and along with Javier Botet as Dracula, the film stars Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and David Dastmalchian, who has teased that this movie will be particularly scary.

“André is a student of and child of, grown up on the genre,” Dastmalchian told Collider. “Horror is his backbone and he is a true monster kid. He has this deep love and affinity for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, as do I. His knowledge of the book and his passion for the characters is so beautiful, and he’s got this really intense and unique vision and a way of telling stories that is so outside of the box… I think it’s gonna scare the crap out of people, but it’s also gonna be one of those movie experiences that transports you to this other place.”