We first heard about Luc Besson's (Leon, The Fifth Element) new take on Dracula starring Caleb Landry Jones as the legendary Transylvanian Count last summer, but updates have been pretty much non-existent since. Now, a first trailer and poster have been released online (via FearHQ.com).
The movie was originally titled Dracula: A Love Tale, and is described as a “a big-budget reimagining” of the vampire's origin story. This latest adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic tale is set to hit theaters on July 30.
“It’s a totally romantic approach,” Besson said of his film in a 2024 interview. “There’s a romantic side in Bram Stoker’s book that hasn’t been explored that much. It’s a love story about a man who waits for 400 years for the reincarnation of his wife. That’s the true heart of the story, waiting an eternity for the return of love.”
It's a common misconception that Stoker's novel contains any romantic elements whatsoever - as it pertains to Dracula and Mina, at least. Even if it did, a romantic angle has been explored several times in previous film and TV adaptations, most notably in Francis Ford Coppola's stylish Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Zoë Bleu will play Elisabeta and her 19th century alter ego, Mina, with Matilda De Angelis as Mina’s best friend, and Christoph Waltz as "a vampire-hunting priest who is on Dracula’s tail" (this movie's take on Van Helsing, no doubt).
Check out the trailer and poster at the links below, and let us know what you think in the comments section.
This wouldn't be the first time we've seen Dracula's pre-vampire life depicted on screen. There's a flashback to the Count's early days in Coppola's film, and the more recent Dracula Untold focuses on the former Knight's fall into darkness after a fateful encounter with an ancient blood-sucker.
Jones played Banshee in X-Men: First Class, but the character was killed off prior to the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Memorable supporting roles in the likes of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Get Out, Finch and American Made.followed.
As for Besson, DogMan was viewed as something of a comeback for the controversial filmmaker, who made his name helming movies such as Big Blue, La Femme Nikita, Leon, and The Fifth Element. More recently, his career was impacted by sexual misconduct allegations, which included accusations from an actress who worked with the director on Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
Besson steadfastly denied these claims, however, and was cleared of all charges last year by France’s equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court.