Universal has debuted a final trailer for Renfield ahead of the horror comedy's theatrical release next month, and this might be even more gruesome than the initial red band teaser.
The trailer begins with a flashback to the first meeting between Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) and Dracula (Nicolas Cage), who enlists the services of the young attorney... before making him his slave for the next 90 years.
All manner of bloody carnage follows, as Renfield attempts to free himself from the vampire's grip with the help of the woman he falls for (Awkwafina).
During an interview with Collider, director Chris McKay said he sees the movie as the one true sequel to the original '30s classic starring Bela Lugosi.
"I kept telling marketing that that’s what we should say, that this is the only direct sequel. I guess you could argue ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ is a sequel because the opening scene is the aftermath of the Tod Browning movie, but Bela Lugosi’s not in it, it’s a whole different set of characters. And it’s a great movie, it’s wild if you haven’t seen it. I thought the movie was great. But to me, this is the only real direct sequel with the Dracula and the Renfield of that movie. So yeah, I wish they’d use that in the marketing. I think that would’ve been a funny way of positioning this movie. The longest time between the original movie and the sequel, beating ‘Psycho,’ or whatever. I guess ‘Avatar’ maybe now, since it feels like a long time since the first one."
Renfield is set to hit theaters on April 14, 2023, and will focus on the title character, who has "grown sick and tired of his centuries as Dracula’s lackey. The henchman finds a new lease on life and maybe even redemption when he falls for feisty, angry traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina).”
Ryan Ridley penned the script, which is based on an original story outline from Robert Kirkman. McKay will also produce alongside Samantha Nisenboim and Skybound Entertainment’s film team of Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst.
In Bram Stoker's classic novel, Renfield was introduced as one of Dr. Seward's inmates before his backstory revealed that he was actually Dracula's attorney and Jonathan Harker's predecessor. Driven mad by the evil Count, Renfield became his willing acolyte, believing he would one day be given the gift of eternal life.
The character has appeared in most adaptations of the tale, and has been played by the likes of Dwight Frye in 1931's Dracula and Tom Waits in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version.