‘Dracula: A Love Tale’ By Luc Besson.

After the premier of his last film “Dogman” at last year’s Venice Film Festival starring Caleb Landry Jones, Luc Besson was very low-key about what his next project would be. But in February, it was confirmed that an adaptation of the 1897 Bram Stoker novel was in development, with Luc Besson directing and writing the screenplay. Besson reunited with his amazing “Dogman” star Caleb Landry Jones to play Dracula, Chritoph Waltz also joined the cast in a lead role. Besson described it as a “love story”. Kinology is talking to buyers about the project at the European Film Market.

In April, some more casting was announced for Dracula: A Love Tale. Zoe Bleu is joining as Elisabeth/Mina, while Matilda De Angelis will play Mina’s friend Maria. as stated earlier, Caleb Landry Jones (Nitram) is playing Dracula and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) is said to play the role of the priest.

Having already directed plenty of action-thrillers, a few sci-fi films, Luc Besson is now set to go into the epic fantasy territories with one of the most famous big screen characters of all. Telling the story of 15th century Prince Vladimir who cursed God following the death of his beloved wife and is turned into a vampire. Later, in 19th century London, he discovers his wife’s doppelganger and dooms himself by pursuing her.

Besson’s version has an origin story element to it exploring the gothic romance between Prince Vladimir and his wife whose loss turns him to forsake God and become a vampire. Buyers familiar with the script tell us there are some epic and potentially spectacular set pieces. The project has a big budget for a European movie, Besson is producing with his EuropaCorp, the source of the financing is yet to be disclosed.

Principal photography began on March 27, 2024 in Lapland, Finland. however, Helsingin Sanomat reports that Besson is actually shooting the film in the Kainuu region instead of Lapland. The reason for the shooting location has been reported to be the area’s snowy landscapes. the director made an extensive “Dracula: A Love Tale” set in the vast Darkmatters studio southwest of Paris. Besson invited Deadline to the set in July at the end of filming, they also revealed a first look image.

Besson was supposedly “canceled”, but he still got praise and a standing ovation at last years Venice Festival after his “Dogman” premier, and has also sourced a big budget for his Dracula love story. Besson, who is 64, has been embroiled in #Metoo controversies these last few years. However, he was exonerated in court twice, including this past June, and has been definitively cleared in France of all charges in the rape case involving the Belgian-Dutch actress Sand Van Roy by the Court of Cassation, the highest judicial court in France.

Besson is known for his successful streak of ‘80s and ‘90s films such as “The Big Blue”, “Leon: The Professional” and “The Fifth Element”. He also wrote 2008’s highly influential “Taken”, which kickstarted a slew of one-man-killing-machine movies such as “John Wick”.

Caleb Landry Jones is an immensely talented actor who has been criminally underrated by the general audience and the Academy. luckily Besson saw the talent and told Deadline how Landry Jones is turning into his muse. they’re already working on another film.

Besson described his adaptation as “a totally romantic approach, there’s a romantic side in Bram Stoker’s book that hasn’t been explored much. It’s a love story about a man who waits for 400 years for the reincarnation of his wife. that’s the true heart of the story, waiting an eternity for the return of love”. Bresson leaves it open on whether the woman Dracula meets is a reincarnation or not.

I also found an amusing article of Besson admitting that he recently met Chinese President Xi Jinping and stated that the Chinese leader was “visibly lighting up” as he met him at a banquet in May. It turns out that Xi is a major fan of Bresson, telling the filmmaker that he’s “seen all of your films”.

We should be expecting “Dracula: A Love Tale” at next year’s Venice Film Festival, or even Cannes.