Writer and producer Chris McAuley and Trinity Studios have announced a major new Dracula film, with Brooke Woods Bechtol and Owen Cotter attached as co-producers.
While details on the project remain under wraps for now, the film is already attracting considerable attention, with industry rumour suggesting a director associated with making Dracula a major force on screen in the 1990s could be returning to the subject.
The production is also being described as a significant Hollywood project, with A-list talent reportedly attached.
The new film marks the latest high-profile development for McAuley, whose work has become increasingly associated with Gothic fiction, horror, and Dracula-related storytelling. Over recent years, he has built a strong reputation through a growing body of genre work, and this latest announcement suggests that Trinity Studios is aiming high with its take on Bram Stoker’s immortal Count.
2023 saw the release of Dracula – The Return: Book One – The Cult of the White Worm, written by Dacre Stoker and Chris McCauley, with art by Chris Geary, Matt Soffe, David Hitchcok and Si Chinook.
There are also plans for a new range of Dracula-related products from Trinity Studios to support the film, indicating a broader publishing and merchandise push around the project. That points to an ambitious cross-media strategy, and suggests the production is being positioned as more than a one-off screen venture.
Further news on the film is expected to be revealed during a special event on 29th May, when a documentary focusing on Chris McAuley’s life and work will be screened as he returns to Ballymena. The event is already shaping up to be a notable occasion, both as a homecoming and as a showcase for the next stage of McAuley’s career.
The screening will also reflect another important strand of McAuley’s work. Among those expected to attend are noted veterans including Shilo Harris and Meredith Iler, President of the Helping a Hero charity. Their involvement reflects McAuley’s close connections with the veteran community, ties strengthened through the writing of his Ghost Protocol series, which recently debuted in Shift Magazine.
With a documentary screening, a hometown return, and the promise of more news on what is being described as a major new Dracula production, 29 May looks set to be an important date for those following McAuley’s work — and for anyone interested in where Trinity Studios may be heading next with one of horror’s most enduring icons.
• Dracula – The Return: Book One – The Cult of the White Worm (AmazonUK Affiliate Link), written by Dacre Stoker and Chris McCauley, with art by Chris Geary, Matt Soffe, David Hitchcok and Si Chinook
For the first time in literary history, a member of the Stoker family is writing a comic script that officially continues the story of Dracula from the classic novel.
Cult Of The White Worm is the first mini series in the official continuation of the classic novel DRACULA by Bram Stoker, brought to you authentically by co-writers Dacre Stoker and Chris McAuley.
Contained in a 32-page comic book the story kicks off right at the end of the novel, and utilising Bram Stoker’s own notes, the iconic count is brought back to life in an authentic and faithful, yet fresh and exciting new way.
The first 21-pages are a full colour chapter of Cult Of The White Worm with stunning art by Chris Geary and Matt Soffe. We also reveal the mysterious 4th Bride and delve into the backstory of Dracula’s man servant Renfield in two 5 page back up comic strips, one of which is co written by Buffy The Vampire Slayer writer Denise Ciencin with art by the Eagle award winning David Hitchcock.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Graphic Novels, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Film, Other Worlds
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