It was only a matter of time before Universal asked Blumhouse to take on another of its iconic Monsters, right? That’s what happens when a studio releases a low-budget horror film that has earned almost 15x its production budget in almost two weeks of release worldwide. So, now comes word that Blumhouse is moving on from “The Invisible Man” and staking its claim to “Dracula,” and the production company has lined up some pretty incredible talent to bring the franchise to life.
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According to THR, Blumhouse is now developing a film based on the classic Universal Monsters franchise, “Dracula,” and it has brought on director Karyn Kusama to oversee the project. The film, at this point, is not officially a Universal production, but it’s assumed that the studio will eventually sign on to distribute the film. Much like “The Invisible Man,” this new version of “Dracula” is expected to reimagine the character and become its own standalone film, without overt ties to some larger universe. Though, let’s be honest, if Blumhouse can do to “Dracula” what it did to “The Invisible Man,” there’s no way these won’t all connect eventually, right?
Kusama is coming off the critically-acclaimed film, “Destroyer,” starring Nicole Kidman. However, she’s probably best known for her work on projects such as the underseen “The Invitation” and the horror film “Jennifer’s Body.” She’s reportedly teaming up with previous collaborators, screenwriters Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, for the project. The trio worked on the aforementioned films, “Destroyer” and “The Invitation,” so it’s pretty exciting to see them all together on this new genre film.
As fans seem to really love “The Invisible Man” and the box office earnings keep climbing, Blumhouse seems to have been able to successfully translate its “small budget equals big profits” model to a franchise that seemingly was DOA. “Dracula,” on the other hand, has been consistently present in the pop culture lexicon, with multiple films and TV series based on Bram Stoker’s classic tale. So, it’ll be truly interesting to see how Kusama and Blumhouse are able to reinvigorate a franchise that has never really left the public consciousness.
