''The Last Voyage of the Demeter'' (also known as ''Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter'' in some international markets) is an upcoming American
supernatural horror
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A ...
film directed by
André Øvredal
André Øvredal (; born 1973) is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films ''Trollhunter'', ''The Autopsy of Jane Doe'' and ''Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark''.
Life and career
He is best known for w ...
and written by Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewicz. It is an adaptation of "The Captain's Log", a chapter from the 1897
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
novel ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
''. The film stars
Corey Hawkins
Corey Antonio Hawkins (born October 22, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the TV series '' The Walking Dead'' and '' 24: Legacy'', as well as his portrayal of Dr. Dre in the 2015 film '' Straight Outta Compton''. In 2017, ...
,
Aisling Franciosi
Aisling Franciosi ( , ; born 6 June 1993) is an Irish actress. She won an AACTA Award for her leading performance in the film '' The Nightingale'' (2018). On television, she is known for her roles in the RTÉ-BBC Two crime drama '' The Fall'' (20 ...
,
Liam Cunningham
Liam Cunningham (born 2 June 1961) is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''.
Cunningham has been nominated for the London Film Critics' Circle Award, the British Independent ...
, and
David Dastmalchian
David Dastmalchian (; born July 21, 1975) is an American film and stage actor. He has had supporting roles in a number of superhero franchises; he portrayed Thomas Schiff in ''The Dark Knight'', Kurt in the first two Marvel Cinematic Univers ...
. Its plot follows the doomed crew of the merchant ship ''Demeter'' who attempt to survive the treacherous ocean voyage while being stalked by the vampire, known only as
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
.
Planning for the film adaptation of "The Captain's Log" began when Schut wrote the initial screenplay, but did not come to fruition and languished in
development hell
Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...
for close to two decades. After
Amblin Partners
Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces fi ...
obtaining the rights in October 2019, Øvredal was announced to direct the film. The main cast members were confirmed in 2021. Principal photography began on June 30, 2021, in Berlin, continued in Malta, and ended on October 1.
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); ''The Sha ...
originally composed the film's score, but
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American musician and composer of film, television, and video game scores based in Los Angeles, California. His work includes the scores of the television series ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), ''Age ...
serving as his replacement due to Newman's scheduling conflicts.
''The Last Voyage of the Demeter'' is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 11, 2023, by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
.
Plot
Cast
*
Corey Hawkins
Corey Antonio Hawkins (born October 22, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the TV series '' The Walking Dead'' and '' 24: Legacy'', as well as his portrayal of Dr. Dre in the 2015 film '' Straight Outta Compton''. In 2017, ...
as Clemens, a doctor who joins the ''Demeter''.
*
Aisling Franciosi
Aisling Franciosi ( , ; born 6 June 1993) is an Irish actress. She won an AACTA Award for her leading performance in the film '' The Nightingale'' (2018). On television, she is known for her roles in the RTÉ-BBC Two crime drama '' The Fall'' (20 ...
as Anna, an unwitting stowaway.
*
Liam Cunningham
Liam Cunningham (born 2 June 1961) is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''.
Cunningham has been nominated for the London Film Critics' Circle Award, the British Independent ...
as the captain of the ''Demeter''.
*
David Dastmalchian
David Dastmalchian (; born July 21, 1975) is an American film and stage actor. He has had supporting roles in a number of superhero franchises; he portrayed Thomas Schiff in ''The Dark Knight'', Kurt in the first two Marvel Cinematic Univers ...
as Wojchek, the ''Demeter''s first mate.
*
Javier Botet
Javier Botet López (born 30 July 1977) is a Spanish actor. Often cast in creature roles, he has portrayed Tristana Medeiros in the ''REC'' franchise (2007–2012), the title character in '' Mama'' (2013), Set in '' The Mummy'' (2017), and Sl ...
as
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
*
Jon Jon Briones
Ernesto Cloma Briones Jr., known as Jon Jon Briones (born August 7, 1965), is a Filipino-American actor best known for his work in musical theatre. He was born in Quezon City, Philippines and became a United States citizen in 2010.Wolf, Matt"We ...
*
Stefan Kapičić
Stefan Kapičić (; born 1 December 1978) is a Serbian actor best known for his role of Colossus in ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). He is also one of three members of the Council for Film Industry of Montenegro.
Early life
Kapič ...
*
Nikolai Nikolaeff
Nikolai Nikolaeff (born 26 December 1981) is an Australian actor who is best known for his roles in the television series ''Sea Patrol'', ''Power Rangers Jungle Fury'' and '' Daredevil''.
Nikolaeff was born in Melbourne, and is of Russian and ...
*
Woody Norman
Woody Ace Norman (born 12 March 2009) is an English child actor. He is best known for his role as Jesse in the film '' C'mon C'mon'' (2021), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He appeared on the ''Evening Standard' ...
* Martin Furulund
*
Chris Walley
*
Nicolo Pasetti
Nicolo Pasetti (born 1997 as Nicolò Bernardino Pasetti Bombardella) is an American-Italian actor. He is best known for his roles as Christian Hellmann in the film ''The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'' (2018) and as Deputy Sheriff ...
as Deputy Hirsch
Production
In 2002, Bragi F. Schut wrote the initial screenplay for ''The Last Voyage of the Demeter'', based on the singular chapter "The Captain's Log" from the 1897 novel ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
'' by
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
, with
Robert Schwentke
Robert Schwentke (; born 15 February 1968) is a German film director and screenwriter.
Life and career
Schwentke was born in Stuttgart, West Germany. He graduated from Los Angeles film school, Columbia College Hollywood
Columbia College Holl ...
on board to direct, as well as rewrite with partner
Mitch Brian
Mitch Brian (born October 15, 1961) is an American television writer, screenwriter and film director. He has sold, optioned or written on assignment more than 25 scripts to major studios, networks and independent production companies. Having grown ...
. However, the film languished in
development hell
Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...
for close to two decades with several other directors attached to the film including
Stefan Ruzowitzky
Stefan Ruzowitzky (born 25 December 1961) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter.
Early life
Ruzowitzky was born in Vienna. He studied drama and history at the University of Vienna and started directing music videos, for example for 'N ...
,
Marcus Nispel
Marcus Nispel is a German film director and producer, Fulbright Scholar, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', as well as an extensive career in television commercials and music videos. H ...
,
David Slade
David Aldrin Slade (born 26 September 1969) is a British film and television director and actor. His works include the films ''Hard Candy'', '' 30 Days of Night'' and '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''. Slade is also a director for television, di ...
and
Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and ''The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film ''Doomsday'' (200 ...
. At one point
Noomi Rapace
Noomi Rapace (; ; born 28 December 1979) is a Swedish actress.Karen Olsson, ''The New York Times Magazine'', 27 May 2012, p. 26. She achieved international fame with her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of the ''Mil ...
and
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...
were set to star in the film, with
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentin ...
"in talks".
In October 2019, it was announced
André Øvredal
André Øvredal (; born 1973) is a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films ''Trollhunter'', ''The Autopsy of Jane Doe'' and ''Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark''.
Life and career
He is best known for w ...
would direct the film with
Amblin Partners
Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces fi ...
obtaining the rights. In January 2021,
Corey Hawkins
Corey Antonio Hawkins (born October 22, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the TV series '' The Walking Dead'' and '' 24: Legacy'', as well as his portrayal of Dr. Dre in the 2015 film '' Straight Outta Compton''. In 2017, ...
joined the cast of the film with a new draft written by Zak Olkewicz. In June 2021,
David Dastmalchian
David Dastmalchian (; born July 21, 1975) is an American film and stage actor. He has had supporting roles in a number of superhero franchises; he portrayed Thomas Schiff in ''The Dark Knight'', Kurt in the first two Marvel Cinematic Univers ...
,
Liam Cunningham
Liam Cunningham (born 2 June 1961) is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''.
Cunningham has been nominated for the London Film Critics' Circle Award, the British Independent ...
,
Aisling Franciosi
Aisling Franciosi ( , ; born 6 June 1993) is an Irish actress. She won an AACTA Award for her leading performance in the film '' The Nightingale'' (2018). On television, she is known for her roles in the RTÉ-BBC Two crime drama '' The Fall'' (20 ...
,
Javier Botet
Javier Botet López (born 30 July 1977) is a Spanish actor. Often cast in creature roles, he has portrayed Tristana Medeiros in the ''REC'' franchise (2007–2012), the title character in '' Mama'' (2013), Set in '' The Mummy'' (2017), and Sl ...
,
Jon Jon Briones
Ernesto Cloma Briones Jr., known as Jon Jon Briones (born August 7, 1965), is a Filipino-American actor best known for his work in musical theatre. He was born in Quezon City, Philippines and became a United States citizen in 2010.Wolf, Matt"We ...
,
Stefan Kapičić
Stefan Kapičić (; born 1 December 1978) is a Serbian actor best known for his role of Colossus in ''Deadpool'' (2016) and ''Deadpool 2'' (2018). He is also one of three members of the Council for Film Industry of Montenegro.
Early life
Kapič ...
,
Nikolai Nikolaeff
Nikolai Nikolaeff (born 26 December 1981) is an Australian actor who is best known for his roles in the television series ''Sea Patrol'', ''Power Rangers Jungle Fury'' and '' Daredevil''.
Nikolaeff was born in Melbourne, and is of Russian and ...
,
Woody Norman
Woody Ace Norman (born 12 March 2009) is an English child actor. He is best known for his role as Jesse in the film '' C'mon C'mon'' (2021), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He appeared on the ''Evening Standard' ...
, Martin Furulund and
Chris Walley joined the cast of the film.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on June 30, 2021, in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, before occurring in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, and ended on October 1. In December 2022, Schut and Olkewicz received screenplay credit, Schut received screen story credit, and
Mitch Brian
Mitch Brian (born October 15, 1961) is an American television writer, screenwriter and film director. He has sold, optioned or written on assignment more than 25 scripts to major studios, networks and independent production companies. Having grown ...
,
Lowell Cauffiel
Lowell Joseph Cauffiel is an American true crime author, novelist, screenwriter and film and television producer.
Life and career
Cauffiel was born in Michigan, the son of Ursula Irene (née Zulka), a Polish-American community leader, and Lowe ...
,
James Hart, Ruzowitzky, and Schwentke received off-screen additional literary material credit.
Music
In April 2022,
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); ''The Sha ...
was originally announced as composer for the film. However, in June 2023, Newman left the project due to his scheduling conflicts, with
Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American musician and composer of film, television, and video game scores based in Los Angeles, California. His work includes the scores of the television series ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), ''Age ...
serving as his replacement.
Release
''The Last Voyage of the Demeter'' is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on August 11, 2023, by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
.
It was previously scheduled for January 27, 2023.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Voyage of the Demeter, The
Upcoming films
2023 horror films
2023 films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2020s supernatural horror films
Amblin Entertainment films
American supernatural horror films
American vampire films
Dracula films
DreamWorks Pictures films
Films based on works by Bram Stoker
Films directed by André Øvredal
Films scored by Thomas Newman
Films set on ships
Films shot in Berlin
Films shot in Malta
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Upcoming English-language films