Adam Sandler has been replaced in the final film of the popular Sony Pictures Animation franchise.
The release date for the fourth installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise has already been moved about on a number of occasions – and it now looks like the film could bypass cinemas altogether.
According to Variety, the animated fantasy-comedy film, which is titled Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, will now be launching exclusively on Amazon Prime, a response to a surge in COVID cases across the Atlantic.
It was revealed in April that the movie would be the final entry in the Hotel Transylvania series while in the same month it was also announced that Adam Sandler would not be reprising his voice role as Drac for this film.
Read on for everything you need to know about Hotel Transylvania 4.
Hotel Transylvania 4 release date
Hotel Transylvania 4 was previously due to be released in cinemas on the 23rd July 2021 in both America and the UK, but that was scrapped – and it now looks like the film will be released on streaming only.
In August 2021, Variety reported that the film would be released on Amazon Prime Video after the streamer reached a deal worth over $100 million with Sony Pictures.
It’s currently expected that the film will arrive on Friday 1st October – but should that change we’ll update this page accordingly.
The film follows Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation which was released in 2018 and studio bosses will be hoping to recreate its success after it grossed $528million (£373m) against an $80m (£57m) budget.
The third instalment was the highest-grossing of all the Hotel Transylvania films and was Sony Pictures Animation’s highest-grossing fully-animated movie worldwide.
The franchise also includes 2012’s Hotel Transylvania and 2015’s Hotel Transylvania 2.
Hotel Transylvania 4 cast
The cast of Hotel Transylvania 4 features a number of impressive names, although it won’t feature Adam Sandler as Drac.
The main cast is as follows:
- Brian Hull replaces Adam Sandler as Dracula, the founder of Hotel Transylvania, father of Mavis, father-in-law of Johnny, son of Vlad, husband of Ericka Van Helsing and grandfather of Dennis.
- Andy Samberg as Johnny Loughran, the husband of Mavis, father of Dennis and son-in-law of Drac.
- Selena Gomez voices Mavis, the daughter of Drac, wife of Johnny and mother of Dennis.
- Kathryn Hahn plays Ericka Van Helsing, wife of Dracula and great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing.
- Steve Buscemi is Wayne, a werewolf.
- David Spade voices invisible man Griffin.
- Keegan-Michael Key plays Murray, an ancient mummy.
- Asher Blinkoff voices Dennis Loughran, son of Mavis and Johnny.
- Fran Drescher is Eunice, Frank’s wife.
- Jim Gaffigan plays Professor Abraham Van Helsing, Ericka’s great-grandfather and Drac’s nemesis.
- Molly Shannon voices Wanda, a werewolf and Wayne’s wife.
Hotel Transylvania 4 trailer
You can get a first glimpse at the fourth outing in the Hotel Transylvania franchise below and decide for yourself how Brian Hull measures up against Adam Sandler as the voice of Drac.
Why is Adam Sandler not in Hotel Transylvania 4?
It was announced in April 2021 that Adam Sandler would not be returning for Hotel Transylvania 4.
The actor voiced the part of Drac and he has been replaced by Brian Hull.
Hull has previously voiced Drac in short film Monster Pets and directors Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon said the storyline allowed them to make the change.
Drymon said: “The fact that he turns into a human was a good opportunity to do things a little differently. He could be a little different than he was in the movies, and it would be natural.
“So, it kind of was the perfect movie to have a person come in and fill those shoes.”
!["Adam]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/05/adam-sandler-2-410ab90.jpg?quality=90&crop=35px%2C107px%2C4376px%2C2915px&resize=620%2C413" "\"US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-NBR-AWARDS\"")
Kluska added: “We started with the design, and how do we make that character feel as different as possible. He’s not going to animate the same; he’s not going to look the same.
“And it felt like embracing Brian and, more specifically, embracing what the difference in that would be as a human. It felt like it was a great opportunity.”
Sandler worked as an executive producer on the first three films but he will not be returning to the fourth film as a cast member or in a production job.
Hotel Transylvania 4’s Invisible Man: What does he look like?
Invisible man Griffin is a prominent character throughout the Hotel Transylvania franchise but fans have not been able to seen him before now.
Viewers have only been able to recognise him as a floating pair of glasses amongst the other monsters, but he has been visible in another form since the release of the trailer.
Griffin is in fact a tall man with red curly hair and a bald patch on top of his head – when in human form fans will still recognise Griffin thanks to his familiar eyewear.
remember when I said that griffin from hotel transylvania was hot? um this is what he looks like .I take it back.???????? pic.twitter.com/P5bOxnkZQP
— yenヾ (@yen_HQ) May 17, 2021