Big news for bloodsucker fans here, as a feature adaptation of what is believed to be the first English-language novel to focus on vampires (it predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by almost a century) is in the works at Milky Way Media.
According to Deadline, production on a film based on John William Polidori’s classic 19th-century gothic novel The Vampyre is set to begin later this year across the UK and Northern Italy, with two legendary British actors, Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) and Derek Jacobi (Murder on the Orient Express), on board to play the lead roles.
The director has not been disclosed, but the screenplay was penned by Rosanna Hamlin and Trisha Ward (Nightshriek/The Two Wolves), who will work alongside producers John Ward (The Two Wolves, Children’s Past Lives), John Dodds (Merchant of Venice, The Man Who Married Himself), and associate producer Jamie Bulman (The Two Wolves).
“Polidori’s novel was the source material for many for of the vampire stories that we now know and love and that are so pivotal to centuries of gothic storytelling,” said Ward, Producer, and Co-Founder of Milky Way Media. “This is the origin story that preceded Bram Stoker’s iconic Dracula – and it is time this original version was brought to the big screen. We’re eager to breathe new life into this iconic tale, with an incredible cast and the extraordinary writing talents of Rosie and Trisha.”
Hamlin added: “John Polidori is the father of vampiric literature as we know it and we have him to thank, for everything from Dracula to The Vampire Diaries. To date, he has been an overlooked pioneer of Gothic fiction, so it has been a pleasure to revisit this unparalleled novel and rediscover the timeless allure of the vampire mythos. This story is based around the balance of desire and darkness, love and horror, and the complexity of the mind.”