James Wan, Universal get 'Overload' director Julius Avery to helm New Van Helsing movie

Van Helsing is a period action horror film starring Hugh Jackman in the titular role as the vigilante monster hunter. Directed by Stephen Sommers, it received mostly negative reviews from the audiences and an expected movie series was cancelled. Now the makers are planning to take a step forward with a fresh project in development.

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New Van Helsing Movie in development with Julius Avery as director

Universal Pictures is making an original horror/thriller film inspired by their classic monster legacy set in the world of Van Helsing, reported Deadline. Overlord helmer, Julius Avery has been tapped to direct the project. James Wan will be producing it under his Atomic Monster banner, along with Michael Clear, and the company’s Judson Scott will serve as executive producer.  Avery will also rewrite the script, originally penned by Eric Pearson.

It is said that the film will take place in the world of the famous vampire hunter. Van Helsing’s involvement in the project is not revealed yet as the script has been kept under wraps. The character which was introduced in Bram Stroker’s Dracula novel was supposed to start a franchise under the Universal banner. However, the failure of Van Helsing made the studio to take a step back. But it has been a top priority for them in their monster-movie library.

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Universal Pictures previously relaunched The Invisible Man, which turned out to be successful at the box office. They are committed to creating compelling filmmaker-driven projects based on characters from their vast Monsters legacy. The studio has informed Julies Avery that the company is open to anything when it comes to their beasts including whether the movie is rated R. The option is provided to the director as R-rated Invisible Man did well. Now a much darker version of the character can be shown in the upcoming project as Very had done in his much-acclaimed Overload. Actors and more details are yet to be announced.

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The year 2004 released Van Helsing cast includes Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Will Kemp, Kevin J. O’Connor, Shuler Hensley, and others. It includes various monsters such as Count Dracula, Mr. Hyde, werewolves, Duergar, and more vampires. Despite the bad reactions, the movie grossed over $300 million worldwide against a budget of around $170 million.