This is superb news. Alex Proyas the uber talented director of The Crow, Dark City and I, Robot has been hired to helm Dracula Year Zero for Universal Pictures says Variety.

As the title suggests, the movie is about the origins of Vlad the Impaler and is a side to the legendary tale that has never been fully dissected on screen, apart from the odd flashback.

I’ve been a big fan of Proyas for some time and although this movie might be a slightly smaller flick than I was expecting him to film next, as a big fan of Dracula stories I’m delighted.

The movie which was greenlit exactly a year ago today is just one of the many Dracula movies we have to look forward too over the next two years. There’s…

Castlevania – Another Dracula origin tale based on the popular video game, which has been adapted for screen by Paul W.S. Anderson with Sylvain White set to helm.

The Un-Dead – A 76 year sequel to the original 1931 movie Dracula, which has been fully endorsed by the Bram Stoker family (a huge rarity) and will be directed by Ernest R. Dickerson.

The Historian – An adaptation of Elizabeth Kostova’s success novel, which is currently at the script writing stage.

That’s not to forget that Hammer Horror looks to be making a return over in Holland and one of their most proflic characters in the past was Dracula, so it seems likely he will be used by that studio in some capacity in the future.