Universal Pictures is planning to bring ‘Dracula Year Zero’ back from the dead. The supernatural horror was originally being developed with Sam Worthington in the lead and Alex Proyas in the director’s chair. ‘Dracula Year Zero’ was preparing to shoot when the studio pulled the plug due to its escalating budget.
Now Deadline has word that studio is in negotiations Irish director Gary Shore (‘The Cup of Tears,’ ‘The Draft’) to helm. Shore, who has yet to make his feature directorial debut, would be directing from a new screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Michael De Luca (‘The Social Network,’ ‘American History X’) is still on board as producer.
According to insiders close to the studio, Worthington is no longer involved. The ‘Clash of the Titans’ star was to play Prince Vlad of Transylvania. Also known as Vlad the Impaler, his lust for blood is what is believed to have been the inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Described by De Luca as “on the scale of ‘Braveheart’ with Dracula,” the film follows Prince Vlad as he battles the Turks and tries to stop them taking all the young male children, including his own, after they invade Transylvania.