Dracula Movie 'The Last Voyage Of The Demeter' Will Star Corey Hawkins

The Last Voyage of the Demeter, a Dracula spin-off movie that's been in development for over 17 years, has found its star: Corey Hawkins, who has appeared in Straight Outta Compton, Kong: Skull Island, the 24 reboot, and more. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director André Øvredal is helming the movie, which is inspired by the chapter in Bram Stoker's iconic vampire novel that features Count Dracula sailing from Transylvania to England.

Is the Demeter finally going to set sail? The Dracula-themed flick from Amblin Partners has been in one stage of development or another since the early 2000s, and now it seems like it might finally see the light of day. On second thought, Dracula hates the light of day, so maybe it won't. The Last Voyage of the Demeter was initially written by Bragi Schut back in 2002, but according to Deadline, the latest version of the script hails from Zak Olkewicz, who also wrote the upcoming action movie Bullet Train.

Deadline is also reporting that Corey Hawkins has joined the cast, although it doesn't specify who he's playing. The film is based on one of the chapters from Bram Stoker's Dracula that details the doomed voyage of the Demeter, a ship that carries Dracula from Transylvania to England. Dracula is hiding in a crate full of Transylvanian dirt in the ship's cargo hold and none of the crew members know he's on board. But as the voyage across the sea continues, Dracula stalks out of his hiding spot to prey on the helpless sailors, picking them off one by one. Eventually, the ship ends up in Whitby Harbor where it's discovered that the entire crew has vanished, save for the captain, who is dead and lashed to the ship's helm.

In other words, unless this script takes some major liberties with Stoker's book, every single character in this movie is going to end up dead. Spoiler alert, I guess? The Demeter's voyage has been captured on screen before in the numerous adaptations of Dracula, but this film will obviously expand on that to fill up a feature runtime.

André Øvredal, director of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Autopsy of Jane Doe, is set to helm the film, and that has me interested. He's a solid horror filmmaker with unique ideas, and I'm curious to see how he handles this material. I also like the idea of trying to approach the Dracula story from a new angle. The tale has been adapted again and again, so bringing some fresh blood into it can't hurt.