Sherlock Team to Unstake Dracula
Steve Barton
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Lord knows The Count’s last television stint didn’t last very long, but you cannot keep an iconic ghoul down, man! Variety is reporting that “Dracula” is getting the “Sherlock” treatment, with the writers and producers of the hit BBC detective series reuniting for a new take on the Bram Stoker vampire classic. Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat will write the series, and Sue Vertue’s Hartswood Films will produce.
Work on the new series has yet to begin in earnest, as Gatiss and Moffat are currently working on solo projects. But talks are already under way with the BBC – which enjoyed huge success with “Sherlock” – on broadcast rights in the UK.
“Dracula” will adopt the same format as “Sherlock,” with a miniseries run of feature-length episodes.
“Sherlock” propelled Benedict Cumberbatch to international stardom for his portrayal of Holmes. With scripts not yet written, casting for “Dracula” is some way off.
“Dracula” will be the first collaboration between Moffat and Gatiss since the last “Sherlock” episode aired in Britain in January. They have said there are no current plans for a new series of “Sherlock” but have not ruled out returning to write more episodes in the future.
Moffat wrote and executive produced six seasons of the BBC’s “Doctor Who” before stepping down from the sci-fi series. Gatiss is an actor as well as a screenwriter, starring in “Game of Thrones” and numerous British series including “Sherlock” itself, in which he played Mycroft, Holmes’ brother. He has spoken in the past of his love of classic horror films, particularly the 1958 version of Dracula starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
It is not yet clear whether, like “Sherlock,” “Dracula” will have a modern-day British setting. Stoker’s 1897 novel has the titular count attempt to move from Transylvania to England in his search for new blood.
More soon!
Categorized:News
