Nic Cage Is Playing Dracula In A New Universal Monster Movie
Nicolas Cage has made a career of biting into his roles with seemingly reckless abandon, even as he strayed further and further from studio moviemaking and sunk his teeth into indie cinema.
Now, in a deal sealed with a vampire’s kiss, Cage is returning to a big-studio movie and will play the meaty role of Dracula in Universal Pictures’ monster movie Renfield.
Nicholas Hoult is starring as the titular character, the vampire count’s infamous acolyte and henchman, in the feature directed by Chris McKay, the helmer behind Amazon’s The Tomorrow War and The Lego Batman Movie.
Like the article says, Cage has gotten out of the major tentpole movie making machine over the last decade. He has mostly done small-budget indie stuff with no consistent quality whatsoever. And that isn't to say they're all bad, by the way. 'Mandy', 'Pig' & 'Color Out of Space' all rock.
One thing I have always appreciated about Cage is that he always gives 110%. It doesn't matter if he is doing a big budget movie with a fat paycheck, or an indie that pays him in jiffy lube coupons. You get the same level of effort. So I couldn't be more pumped for him to get a crack at a legendary character like Dracula. Here is what we know about it so far:
The character of Renfield originated in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula as a patient in an asylum obsessed with drinking blood, deluded into thinking he will find immortality. He bows at the feet of Dracula, who, in the very definition of toxic work environments and co-dependent relationships, feeds him insects and rats and dangles everlasting life in front of him.
This concept for this will probably remind you of something it inspired, 'What We Do in the Shadows'. Specifically the show version and the relationship between Guillermo and Nandor. What should excite you about this beyond the Cage casting is the fact that he is acting opposite Nicholas Hoult, who is an excellent actor. Their dynamic could made this one of the best movies of whatever year it comes out on.