Blumhouse and Universal are working on a new Dracula movie

Universal’s Dark Universe sounded great on paper with the classic monsters going to all be in the same universe, but then The Mummy arrived. Personally, I quite enjoyed it, but I could see it was all a bit of a mess – I still don’t know why it wasn’t a Van Helsing running the Monster Hunting organization.

However, Universal took a step back, had a rethink and teamed up with Blumhouse to bring us The Invisible Man which was great.

Gone is the interconnected universe. Instead, they went with a stand-alone, moderately budgeted film which worked out rather well – The Invisible Man cost $7 million to make and has currently made $102,226,015 worldwide.

It looks like they are moving ahead with that set-up for more monster movies, as THR is reporting that a new Dracula movie is in the works.

Karyn Kusama (Destroyer, The Invitation) will direct with Blumhouse producing and Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay writing the script. it looks like the new film will be set in modern times and I now want to go and watch the Channel 4 Ultraviolet show from 1998 that starred Jack Davenport and Idris Elba. That is still one of the best modern-day vampire shows in my opinion.

The Invitation was a great movie that tense and creepy so Kusama should make a fantastic Dracula film.

2014’s Luke Evans starrer Dracula Untold, which earned $217 million worldwide, did see the Count end up in modern times, but I doubt they will go back to that one.

According to THR, instead of hearing pitches and reading scripts that tie monsters together, Universal execs are telling filmmakers that storytelling is the star. “It’s a ‘best idea wins’ approach,” says one producer, “and they are having the filmmakers find the individual stories.”

Who would have thought that telling a good story would be the way to go! Yes, that was loaded with sarcasm!

The studio is working with filmmakers such as Paul Feig, Elizabeth Banks, James Wan and John Krasinski, even developing multiple takes on one character, sources say. “They have multiple irons in the fire, but not all will become real,” says one agent familiar with the studio’s plans.

I really enjoyed The Invisible Man so I look forward to seeing more monster movies from Blumhouse and Universal.