Luc Besson’s ‘Dracula’ Starring Christoph Waltz Releases Trailer

Director Luc Besson is back with the new trailer for Dracula. The Fifth Element director is adapting Bram Stoker’s classic novel, crafting a Gothic horror romance with bite. In a year that gave audiences Guillermo del Toro’s take on Frankenstein, another monster reimagining is set to thrill audiences with Besson’s take on the iconic vampire tale. Both films also happen to star two-time Academy Award-winning actor Christoph Waltz.

Waltz is joined by Get Out‘s Caleb Landry Jones, who is playing Vlad, and Zoë Bleu as his love interest. Besson wrote and directed Dracula, with the trailer featuring spectacular visuals and Gothic imagery that sets the tone for the supernatural romantic thriller. The film’s production budget, rumored to be between $30 and $50 million, appears to have put every ounce on the screen, with lavish costumes and period settings.

The trailer for Dracula, shared on YouTube by Vertical, sees Waltz’s priest stumble upon a vampire, leading him to Vlad. The central vampire has been pursuing his wife across generations, awaiting her reincarnation after she was killed. Now that she has returned, Waltz must step in to try to save her from Vlad’s bloody intentions. What follows promises to be a bloody, haunting horror film when it hits theaters on February 6, 2026. The synopsis for Besson’s Dracula reads:

When a 15th-century prince denounces God after the loss of his wife he inherits an eternal curse: he becomes Dracula. Condemned to wander the centuries, he defies fate and death, guided by a single hope – to be reunited with his lost love.

‘Dracula’ Is Putting a Unique Romantic Spin on the Vampire Tale

Caleb Landry Jones stars in ‘Dracula’

Vertical Entertainment

There have been numerous iterations of Dracula over the years. Just last year, Robert Eggers gave audiences his take on the classic vampire movie Nosferatu, and even Nicolas Cage put a unique spin on horror tropes in the comedy Renfield. There was even Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat’s 2020 miniseries Dracula, which many found to be a worthy dive into Stoker’s classic character.

Besson is known for putting his own unique spin on past genres. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was a sci-fi epic, though a misfire, and The Family was his take on mafia comedy, with Robert De Niro playing a mobster hiding with his family. Besson’s stylish flair has also been highlighted by bold entries in his filmography, like Angel-A and The Fifth Element.

Besson’s Dracula made its festival debut earlier this year and now boasts a 78% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While general audiences still have a few weeks before they get a chance to lay eyes on the next iteration of the Gothic horror, early word-of-mouth suggests genuine promise, highlighting the beautiful aesthetics and central performances. Dracula is set to deliver on bloody thrills while focusing on a romantic angle, proving to be a unique mix of genres.