Actor David Dastmalchian has had a profile boost recently. He was in The Suicide Squad and Dune. Most recently he turned up in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He is also about to appear in a project that has had one of the longest development times in the history of cinema – The Last Voyage Of The Demeter.
The first draft of the script was completed back in 2002 by Bragi F. Schut. It is based upon a single chapter – The Captain’s Log – in the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.
It follows the voyage of the Demeter, a 19th-century Russian schooner transporting cargo from Carpathia to London, including several large boxes of which the contents are a mystery to the Captain and crew. When the sailors start vanishing one-by-one, it becomes clear to the crew that they are not alone on the ship. Something terrible is making the voyage with them, and it is feeding.
Eventually, in the book, the ship washes up in Whitby, England, during a ferocious storm. The only crewmember left aboard is the dead captain, lashed to the wheel. An animal resembling a large dog is seen leaping ashore as the ship runs aground.
Trollhunter and The Autopsy of Jane Doe director Andre Ovredal has taken on the project that has had, at various stages, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Marcus Nispel, David Slade, and Neil Marshall all attached to direct. At one point Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley were set to star in the film, with Viggo Mortensen “in talks”. Jude Law was signed as Dracula for a period of time.
Now Dastmalchian has told Collider that Ovredal will show audiences a version of Dracula that audiences have never seen before.
“Horror is his backbone and he is a true monster kid. He has this deep love and affinity for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, as do I. His knowledge of the book and his passion for the characters is so beautiful and he’s got this really intense and unique vision and a way of telling stories that is so outside of the box.
So anyone who’s familiar with his works… you go, ‘Well, this guy never takes a little swing. He takes a big swing’. He took a huge swing with this film. I think it’s gonna scare the crap out of people, but it’s also gonna be one of those movie experiences that transports you to this other place.”
Alongside Dastmalchian is Corey Hawkins, Liam Cunningham, Aisling Franciosi, Jon Jon Briones, Stefan Kapicic, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Woody Norman, Martin Furulund, and Chris Walley.
6’7″ tall, strangely shaped Slenderman actor Javier Botet is to star as Dracula.
This version of the script was written by Zak Olkewicz (Fear Street). A more than 20 year wait finally comes to an end on August 11th.
Check back every day for new content at Last Movie Outpost.
To like us on Facebook Click Here
To follow us on Twitter Click Here
See our YouTube channel Click Here
