Nicholas Hoult roped in for Universal's monster movie 'Renfield'

American actor Nicholas Hoult has been roped in to star in Universal's upcoming monster movie titled 'Renfield'.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is based on the infamous fictional character Dracula's unhinged acolyte.

The movie will be helmed by 'The Tomorrow War' director Chris McKay. It is a story from 'The Walking Dead' creator Robert Kirkman. Ryan Ridley, known for Fox's 'Ghosted' has penned the script.

'Renfield' is being produced by McKay and Kirkman along with David Alpert, Bryan Furst and Sean Furst. McKay's producing partner, Samantha Nisenboim, is executively producing the project.

For the unversed, the fictional character of 'Renfield' originated in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula as a patient in an asylum with an obsession for drinking blood, deluded into thinking he will find immortality. He bows at the feet of the vampire king, who feeds him insects and rats and dangles everlasting life in front of him, as per the Hollywood Reporter.

The character has been described as a loyal follower of Dracula by the writer. It has appeared numerous times on screen, including being played by Dwight Frye in 1931's Dracula and by Tom Waits in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 adaptation.

Hoult was most recently seen in Warner Bros. feature 'Those Who Wish Me Dead' and recently wrapped filming on the second season of Hulu's breakout series 'The Great', a show that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He also has dark-comedy thriller 'The Menu' alongside 'The Queen Gambit' star Anya Taylor-Joy in the pipeline.

( With inputs from ANI )

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