Universal Pictures has shared the first trailer for Renfield, their upcoming film starring none other than Nicolas Cage as the original vampire himself.
Directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The LEGO Batman Movie) and starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as Renfield, the horror-comedy is certainly a unique take on the classic Bram Stoker novel.
Nic Cage, the indescribable talent that refuses to retire, reaffirmed his dream of playing the legendary vampire finally coming true. Cage proclaimed (via Variety) he is an “enormous” fan of the character.
As such, Cage spent a ton of time revisiting various appearances of the vampire in film through the years, from 1931 classic with Bela Lugosi all the way to Francis Ford Coppola’s (Cage’s uncle) 1992 adaptation.
“I looked at Gary’s performance in uncle’s movie, which I think it’s just so sumptuous. Every frame is a work of art,” he said. Furthermore, Cage suggested the key to making this take pop is how he moves as the creature.
“The key, I think, is movement,” Cage said to Variety, “I saw a movie called ‘Malignant’ and the director James Wan and the actress [Annabelle Wallis] created this choreography that was terrifying.”
He added, “So I’m hoping to do something like that where Dracula can either glide or move like Sadako in Ringu.” The star also teased that his pet crow Hoogan makes fun of him when he comes and goes from his Las Vegas home.
“He has taken to calling me names…it’s comical, at least, it is to me,” Cage said. “When I leave the room, he’ll say, Bye,’ and then go, ‘Ass.’ Crows are very intelligent. And I like their appearance, the Edgar Allan Poe aspect. I like the goth element. I am a goth.”
Here’s a brief blurb on the movie, its official poster, and the first trailer:
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Evil doesn’t span eternity without a little help. In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage).
Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.
Renfield is based on a pitch by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman who is producing the film alongside Skybound Entertainment partner David Alpert (also The Walking Dead, Invincible). Skybound co-presidents Bryan Furst and Sean Furst (Daybreakers) are also producing the film. Screenplay was handled by Ryan Ridley (Ghosted series, Rick & Morty).
Supporting cast includes Awkwafina as Rebecca Quincy, Ben Schwartz as Teddy Lobo, Adrian Martinez as Chris Marcos, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Ella, James Moses Black as Captain J. Browning, Caroline Williams as Vanessa, and Brandon Scott Jones as Mark.
Renfield is premiering exclusively in theaters on April 14th, and a blu-ray release is set to come sometime this summer.
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