Inspiration for new Van Helsing character is ‘Mad Max’
While some fans aren’t even familiar with Van Helsing other than the pathetic 2004 Hugh Jackman film, Universal is primed to bring a new project to the big screen and one of the writers hinted at the character, saying Mad Max is an inspiration.
“I can only say that early on, our inspiration for his behavior and his mannerisms was all in Mad Max,” said screenwriter Eric Heisserer to HitFix, while discussing Lights Out, his new horror movie opening this week.
Slash Film recounted Van Helsing “From Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is one of the horror genre’s greatest heroes, a character who has endured as long as the titular vampire himself. Before he was reimagined as a globetrotting 19th century James Bond, Van Helsing was a scientist and a scholar, a professor whose greatest weapon against the supernatural was his vast knowledge of science and the occult.”
Heisserer opened up about the Universal Monster franchise, addressing the tone of the films: horror vs. action/adventure.
“I can say that the decision that a lot of us made was to go and just write the best movie we could in our own corner and make sure it’s good on its own…and didn’t necessarily need to link arm-in arm-with anybody else. And to be tonally different from the other films. One may be a little bit more comedic, action-adventure-y, one can be very much a traditional horror piece. That kind of thing. And then we’ll see what happens as the projects evolve and we all get a chance to convene and talk, and make sure the movies feel like they’re all in the same world.”
The Mummy will be the first film in a series of these new films, starring Tom Cruise alongside Annabelle Wallis with Star Trek Beyond star Sofia Boutella playing a female mummy.
Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Javier Botet, Courtney Vance and Dylan Smith also star.
The Mummy will arrive in theaters on June 9, 2017
Tom Cruise and AnnaBelle Wallis on set of “The Mummy” photo published by Coming Soon
