Universal Pictures and director Chris McKay's horror comedy, Renfield, wrapped production earlier this year (check out some set snaps of Nicolas Cage as Dracula), and we now have some good news for horror fans who may have been concerned that the movie's lighter tone would result in a PG-13 rating.
Bloody Disgusting has learned that the MPA has given Renfield an R-rating for “Bloody violence, some gore, language throughout and some drug use.”
Renfield is set to hit theaters on April 14, 2023, and will focus on the title character (Nicholas Hoult), who has "grown sick and tired of his centuries as Dracula’s (Cage) lackey. The henchman finds a new lease on life and maybe even redemption when he falls for feisty, perennially 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, R.M. 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.