Julius Avery to Direct New ‘Van Helsing’ Film for Universal
“Overlord” director Julius Avery will helm an original horror/thriller inspired by Universal’s “Van Helsing,” according to an individual with knowledge of the project.
James Wan will produce via his Atomic Monster banner with Michael Clear. Atomic Monster’s Judson Scott will serve as executive producer.
The logline for the script is being kept under wraps, but the film is set in the world of “Van Helsing.” Avery will also rewrite the script written by “Black Widow’s” Eric Pearson, who wrote the original script.
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Universal has remained committed to creating filmmaker-driven projects based on characters from the studio’s vast monsters legacy. That approach proved successful with Blumhouse and Leigh Whannell’s “The Invisible Man,” for which the studio decided not to push forward with the initial notion of an interconnected universe, and instead halted and reassessed. “The Invisible Man” went on to gross $130 million globally and marked the highest domestic opening for a horror title since last year’s “It Chapter Two.”
Hugh Jackman previously portrayed Van Helsing in the poorly received 2004 movie of the same name. Anthony Hopkins also played the character in Francis Ford Coppola‘s reimagining of “Dracula” in 1992.
Atomic Monster’s upcoming slate includes “Aquaman 2,” “Malignant,” “There’s Someone Inside Your House,” “Mortal Kombat” and “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” In television, the company’s slate includes “MacGyver,” “Swamp Thing,” “Archive 81” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
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Wan is represented by CAA, Stacey Testro International and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light LLP. Avery is represented as a director by CAA. He is also represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc. Pearson is represented by ICM Partners and attorney David Colden.
Deadline first reported the news.
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