Universal’s Dark Universe may have fallen at the first hurdle for taking itself too seriously, but that has led to a more imaginative use of the studio’s long history with movie monsters. After the modern trauma of The Invisible Man, Renfield is taking the Dracula franchise in a completely new direction – with the Count being depicted as a despicable boss to his put upon servant. The comedy horror is set to arrive in theaters in April and will see Nicholas Hoult playing the title character, while Nicolas Cage will be delivering his usual barnstorming performance as the world’s most famous vampire. However, as Skybound Entertainment CEO David Alpert told Screen Rant, this is like nothing seen in a Dracula story before. He said:
“We have Renfield coming up in April, and the thing for us with Renfield was you've seen plenty of Dracula stories. There's been a million Dracula stories, but I guarantee you have never seen this take on Dracula, or the notion that Renfield and Dracula are in a co-dependent relationship and that Dracula's the ultimate narcissist. It's one of those things that once you hear it, you're like, "Ah, of course." You call somebody a psychic vampire at work. You're like, "Oh, no, no. He is not only a psychic vampire, he's the vampire." You play those dynamics. I don't think we've ever really seen that. I think it's always those intersections of something familiar but done in a completely different way that we love.”
Nicolas Cage is On A Career High That Looks Set to Continue With Renfield.
While Nicolas Cage’s Dracula is not the central focus of Renfield, and according to the actor, he does not have a lot of screen time, his appearance in the movie is certainly one of the most intriguing parts of it for many fans. With the character of Dracula depicted in every way possible, it is not surprising that Cage drew his inspiration from one of the greatest actors ever to play the Count on screen. He previously said:
“Well, I had a lot of help. There were a ton of super-talented people on that movie that helped design the look. We wanted it to be more homage, more Christopher Lee. I favored Christopher Lee as Dracula and I liked his kind of sixties hairdo, but the wardrobe, the costume, and no, I didn't come up with the idea for the rings. That all came out of a wardrobe. They came in with all that. Maybe they sent something in me that I would like that, but that was really their contribution.”
Renfield will see Cage’s Dracula as the boss of his servant Renfield, who is in a “toxic relationship” with the blood-sucking vampire. If nothing else, Renfield needs a lot of credit for not being a straight-up remake/reboot of the Dracula story. While there is certainly a feeling that the film is a bit of a punt for Universal, it is that kind of experimental take on an old franchise that could end up making it a success.
Renfield will be released on April 14, 2023.