Producer Joe Roth of Alice in Wonderland fame is set to produce a new spin on Dracula, based on a script devised by Jason Keller who worked on the upcoming Mirror Mirror. With so many reputed stories about various studios rebooting Bram Stoker’s legendary story Sony has decided to throw its hat into the ring, it is reported that Sony has secured the services of both Joe Roth and Palek Patel as the producers, the duo have already have a habit of retelling literature classics. They have between them produced Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and the highly anticipated Snow White and The Huntsman, in addition Oz: The Great and The Powerful is due out in 2013 and is directed by Sam Raimi. It is reported that the script is based on an idea by Jason Keller who is also responsible for the recent script draft of The Tomb starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Currently in the Dracula merry go round is Harker which is a project from Warner Bros. Which sees Jonathon Harker as a Scotland Yard Inspector, on the hunt of the fanged villain. Universal on the other hand are said to be planning a reworking based on the traditional mythology, Faithful to Stoker’s original story which will show the vampire in a more human light. (Yes, pun intended). Universal are calling this project Dracula Year Zero, Keller’s take on the Dracula story is said to be a higher profile movie already, largely thanks to the involvement of Roth and Patel. All going well it could spawn a series of sequels and create a fresh franchise which hasn’t been seen since Hammer Studios did it back in the 1960’s and 70’s. All projects are at early stages in development so it is a long way off before we could see them on the big screen, I would love to see Dracula resurrected again in a franchise. As a fan of the Hammer movies it would be interesting to see a faithful adaption of the project whoever takes it to the next level, it’s a waiting game at the moment but as ever we will keep you informed.
