By Molly Moss

Published: Friday, 06 January 2023 at 12:00 am


Universal has unveiled the first trailer for Renfield, showcasing a new take on Dracula lore with comedy and violence aplenty.

Directed by Chris McKay, this modern monster tale focuses on Dracula’s (Nicolas Cage) long-suffering servant (Nicholas Hoult).

However, after centuries of service, Renfield falls in love with traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) in modern-day New Orleans, and decides he’s ready to leave his master, but how will he work up the courage to do so?

Well, in the clip, Renfield resorts to attending a group therapy session as he tries to figure out what to do, exclaiming: “I need to get out of a toxic relationship.”

“Why don’t you start by telling us what brought you here,” the therapist says, to which Renfield responds: “’My boss is… different.”

Viewers are then shown Renfield dragging a body into the vampire’s gory lair, which is covered with blood bags.

We’re also treated to closeups of Dracula’s teeth, before he requests a “handful of nuns” and a “busload of cheerleaders”.

Cage previously said there is a “comedic pop-art attitude” to the film, telling Empire Magazine: “When I got a sense of where McKay wanted to go, I realized the movie has a comedic, pop art attitude. So I thought: ‘This will be a pop-art Dracula.’ Warhol did a great black-on-black Dracula. This is in that Warhol vein.”

However, Renfield won’t lack frightening moments if the trailer is anything to go by.

Producer Robert Kirman previously described the film as “extremely violent comedy”.

“It’s a fun, extremely violent comedy because I’ve got a crutch, and it’s violence,” he said recently during Kevin Smith’s Fatman Beyond podcast.

But when can we expect the film to land and who else will star in the movie? Read on for everything you need to know.

Renfield release date

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Universal Pictures/ YouTube.

The movie is set to land in cinemas on 14th April 2023.

The film began production in early 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana, with Universal Pictures releasing a behind-the-scenes photo at the time to confirm the news.

Renfield cast