Karyn Kusama’s ‘Dracula’ Project Called Off Just Before Production Begins

Director Karyn Kusama’s Dracula project, Mina Harker, has been called off just a month before it was expected to begin production, Deadline reports.
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Initially backed by Blumhouse and Miramax Films, Mina Harker was planned as a modernized spin on the classic Dracula tale, with Jasmine Cephas Jones (Blindspotting) attached in the title role. As Harker, Jones would have played a woman who crosses paths with Dracula in present-day Los Angeles. Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi – co-writers of numerous Kusama films including Æon Flux, The Invitation, and Destroyer – were set to deliver the screenplay.

Max Weinstein is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. He is the Editor-at-Large of ‘Dread Central’ and former Editorial Director of ‘MovieMaker.’ His work has been featured in ‘Cineaste,’ ‘Fangoria,’ ‘Playboy,’ ‘Vice,’ and ‘The Week.’
Mina Harker’s abrupt cancellation comes at a time when Dracula’s story is fueling other Hollywood productions, including the Nicolas Cage-starring horror-comedy Renfield, from Universal, and Amblin Entertainment’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which adapts a chapter from Bram Stoker’s novel entitled “The Captain’s Log.”

Genre fans eagerly monitored progress surrounding Mina Harker since it was first announced in 2020. That excitement was only ramped up when Kusama’s work as a director and executive producer on the acclaimed Showtime series Yellowjackets reminded viewers of her unique feel for horror fare. But the project is believed to have died on the vine when Miramax reportedly backed out of making it.