Renfield Maker Teases Nicolas Cage’s Dracula Sequel, Despite Poor Reception

Despite the dismal performance of Renfield at the box office, director Chris McKay suggests that Nicolas Cage could be back with another iteration of the nefarious Count Dracula. 

Renfield starred Nicholas Hoult as the titular character and Cage as the iconic vampire but failed to recuperate even half of the film’s budget at the box office because it just didn’t connect with the audience.

However, McKay hints that there may still be hope for Cage’s Dracula to make a glorious comeback, as the director has an intricate vision for the Dracula franchise and plans to create a shared universe for the most famous monsters in history.

Although Renfield did not fare well at the box office, McKay reveals to Empire magazine (via SyFy Wire) that it is not the end of Cage’s portrayal of the Prince of Darkness.

Here, the director suggests that Dracula might’ve survived his dismemberment in the climax and has the potential to resurrect himself. McKay further hints that the franchise still has the potential to introduce the infamous vampire-hunter Van Helsing in the later installments. Check his remarks below:

Renfield’s going to cement those bits with holy water and then spread them out presumably around the world. But inside each of those cells, Dracula is still alive, and may eventually come back together.

“There are choices that we made to suggest that there’s a world of vampire-hunters out there. It would not be a huge leap to suggest that Van Helsing would [still] be out there.

Renfield was not without its chinks in the armor, but the choice of Cage as Dracula was certainly not one of them. 

Cage is celebrated for his distinctive, quirky acting style, and he delivered a Dracula as lively and wonderfully strange as the film’s various teasers had suggested. He endowed the role with a flawless balance of humor and horror, making his rendition of Dracula as memorable as some of the most iconic portrayals of Stoker’s notorious villain.

Renfield’s lackluster performance might make Universal want to forget about a sequel and move on. However, Cage’s portrayal of Dracula still holds a lot of promise for reviving their classic monster universe. 

The actor himself has expressed his interest in starring in his own Dracula movie, but without other characters stealing his thunder like Renfield. It will certainly give Cage more breathing space and a chance to make the character his own in the later creatives of the franchise.

The prospects of a Renfield sequel or spinoff remain uncertain, as Universal has not yet decided to greenlight such a project. Nevertheless, it would be a grave mistake to pursue this endeavor without the involvement of Cage, as he produced one of the most iconic portrayals of Dracula in Renfield.

The studio still has ample opportunity to create a successful classic monster universe, with Cage’s Dracula as the pivotal figure in its plans. So, do you want to see Cage returning as Count Dracula in the sequel, or are you satiated (or fed up!) with the first one? Do write in the comment section below. Ciao!

About Renfield

Renfield is an upcoming American horror comedy film directed by Chris McKay from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley, based on an original idea by Robert Kirkman featuring characters from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula.

The film stars Nicholas Hoult as the title character, alongside Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula, with Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Adrian Martinez in supporting roles.

Renfield will have its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 14, 2023, by Universal Pictures.