With Akira currently on hold, Orphan and Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra is looking for his next project. First attached almost a year ago to this date, he was developing a re-imaging of Bram Stoker‘s Dracula with Leonardo DiCaprio from a script by Lee Shipman and Brian McGreevy. Harker was out on the backburner due to Warner Bros’ manga adaptation, but is now being brought back and we have the news of the first possible casting.
Vulture is reporting that Russell Crowe is currently in talks with the studio to lead the story that follows the “vampire story from the point of view of Jonathan Harker, who — instead of his traditional role as a lawyer — is now a Scotland Yard detective investigating the Count’s string of grisly murders in England.” The proposed plan is to have Collet-Serra focus on this before returning to a smaller-budgeted Akira.
But Crowe is quite busy himself, shooting Tom Hooper, follow-up to The King’s Speech, a new Les Miserables. He is also attached to Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, with is said to shoot this July. As a fan of Collet-Serra, I’d like to see him take on this twisted murder mystery and while it certainly wouldn’t be a sophisticated role for Crowe, I could see him having fun with it. If all else fails, at least this project is pushing back a Garrett Hedlund-led Akira and we can all agree that is a good thing.
What do you think about Crowe in a vampire film?