Nicholas Hoult is Renfield! One of the most famous characters in the Dracula lore is getting his own film from Universal Pictures, and Hoult will bring this character to a new level.
Fresh off The Tomorrow War, his first live-action film, Chris McKay is helming an upcoming movie that will center around Dracula’s henchmen, Renfield. The film will serve as an origin story and is based on an original script by Robert Kirkman. Ryan Ridley will write the screenplay.
Renfield’s character originated in the 1897 Dracula novel. A patient in an asylum, he develops an obsession with eating insects and drinking blood, which he believes will bring him immortality. The character is obsessed with Dracula, bowing at his feet and doing his bidding. Dracula is known for feeding him insects and rats while he forever dangles everlasting life in front of him.
Dwight Frye played the character in 1931’s Dracula, while Tom Waits played Renfield in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation. Hoult joins a long line of great supporting actors but will take this character to leading man status. Sources note that Dracula will also feature in the film but will not serve as the primary focus.
