Universal Hunts Down New Writer For Van Helsing

February 23, 2017

Written by Kelli Marchman McNeely

Kelli Marchman McNeely is the owner of HorrorFuel.com. She is an Executive Producer of "13 Slays Till Christmas" which is out on Digital and DVD and now streaming on Tubi. She has several other films in the works. Kelli is an animal lover and a true horror addict since the age of 9 when she saw Friday the 13th. Email: horrorfuelinfo@gmail.com

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News comes today that there has been a change involving the reboot of ‘Van Helsing’, part of their new shared monster universe. The new version of ‘Van Helsing’ was originally written by Eric Heisserer, the writer behind 2016’s sci-fi hit ‘Arrival’, ‘Lights Out’ and 2011’s ‘The Thing’, and Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange). Now, ‘Wrath of the Titans’ scribe Dan Mazeau will be taking over writing duties. There has been no word yet on why the change has been made.
 
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The character of Abraham Van Helsing originally appeared in Bram Stoker’s classic novel ‘Dracula’ back in 1897. Part fearless vampire hunter, part occultist and part doctor. Over centuries, the character has be reimagined and updated. A perfect example of his evolution is the Van Helsing we met in the 2004 film by the same name. In the films and novels where he has been mentioned, it is always as a hunter of evil.
Heisserer’s vision for the film was something dark and scary. Though things might change in Mazaeau’s script, Heisserer told Collider the following:

We all came in without putting a flag down on any of those certain monsters or films, just talking about how we saw the world working and what we wanted to explore. Sometimes we’d talk about themes and Jon and I just found ourselves kind of on the same page in terms of what we wanted to see Van Helsing explore. It was a natural team-up, I think.” Heisserer continued. “[I’ve been] frustrated by the number of films where we find an extraordinary character with superhuman abilities that becomes a hero to solve a problem that a normal person cannot solve. And I was eager to try and buck that trend ans showcase someone who had no extraordinary powers, just resourcefulness and will and kind of stubbornness who’s able to tackle some of these bigger problems Because I don’t like the idea that we’re infusing our public and our pop culture with the idea that only super people can solve the world’s problems. I like the idea of the everyday hero stepping up to the plate and getting things fixed.”

The new monster universe begins with ‘The Mummy‘ starring Tom Cruise which will open in theaters this June. There are multiple other films that will follow including ‘The Invisible Man‘ starring Johnny Depp, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’, and ‘The Wolf Man‘.
 

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