Cinematical

Well, it now looks like the race to bring Dracula back to the big screen is heating up, in both sequel and prequel forms. Back in May, Martha told us about Un Dead, a sequel to Bram Stoker's original story (not Francis Ford Coppola's updated version) set 25 years after the end of Dracula. Apparently, this was also the first script to be approved by Bram Stoker's family since Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the famous vampire back in 1931. Damn, talk about holding out -- you mean to tell me, in 75 years, no one managed to impress this family with a decent Dracula story? What gives?

Anyway, Variety reports Universal has snatched up the spec script, Dracula Year Zero, with intentions to bring an earlier version of Dracula to the big screen. Story is said to revolve around his origins, "weaving vampire mythology with the true history of Prince Vlad the Impaler." The idea here is to portray Dracula as a "flawed hero," all mixed up in love, magic and war. While it's not known whether the Stoker's approved this one, Universal was home to the original 1931 version which means, as adoptive parents, they can do whatever they want.