What the hell planet did Sam Worthington come from? He was selected by Christian Bale to play opposite him in Terminator Salvation, but before that he was in a little seen croc horror feature called Rouge. Now he’s in the biggest film of all time (Avatar) and will next be starring as Persus in Clash of the Titans.
But in his first big money deal since the James Cameron film, he’s negotiating to star in Dracula Year Zero, a period vampire flick by Alex Proyas (Dark City, I, Robot) for Universal.
Not to be confused with Francis Ford Coppola’s interpretation or Dracula 2000, this spec script explores the origin of Dracula, weaving vampire mythology with the true history of Prince Vlad the Impaler. It seeks to depict Dracula as a flawed hero in a tragic love story set in a dark age of magic and war.
Latino Review first reported about Worthington’s possible involvement yesterday, and it has been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision Blog.
Worthington has a good presence on screen, but it’s debatable if it’s a star-making presence. Being part of three big budget tentpole pictures in a row, Worthington wasn’t the sell factor. You had an established franchise looking to recapture the magic; another that saw a director make his first feature film in more than a decade; and there’s the nostalgia factor of seeing Man vs. Gods (this coming after the monumental success of 300). As Dracula, we’ll see if Worthington carries much of an audience with him.
In the meantime, he’ll appear in the Helen Mirren thriller The Debt (release date TBA).
Credit: Latino Review
