Andres Muschietti Might Direct ‘Dracul,’ the First Stoker-Authorized ‘Dracula’ Prequel
Bram Stoker’s Dracula revolutionized the portrayal of vampires in popular culture forever, rebranding a central European legend into a scary, fascinating, unforgettable character that still haunts the public consciousness. And like any popular character, Dracula has gotten his fair share of speculative origin stories, from novels like Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian to movies like Dracula Untold. Now, for the first time, the first Stoker-authorized Dracula origin tale, titled Dracul, is getting a film adaptation, and it might be directed by It’s Andres Muschietti.
The story, written by J.D. Barker and Dacre Stoker, Bram’s great-grand nephew, is set in 1868 when a 21-year-old Bram Stoker traps an ungodly evil in a tower, scribbling a record of all the events that led him there, per Deadline. Paramount has picked up the rights, and are courting Muschietti for the picture. The director finds himself in high demand these days, after bringing us his It adaptation, which hits theaters this week. He’s said that he plans to make his It sequel before working on anything else, so it looks like Dracul will be competing with his Robotech adaptation for the next spot on Muschietti’s list.
This won’t be the only Dracula movie coming out in the next few years, as Universal is still moving forward with their Dark Universe even after The Mummy’s dismal reception. But that will probably end up bring an adaptation of the original material, and won’t compete with Paramount’s meta version of a prequel.