The ensemble cast of Renfield continues to expand as it’s now been announced that Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog) has joined the project in a mystery role. Previously, it was revealed that Nicolas Cage (Pig) would play Count Dracula with Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road) starring as the vampire’s henchman. Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is also attached to the cast in an undisclosed part.
Full plot details haven’t been released about Renfield, but it comes from an original outline by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The LEGO Batman Movie) is directing and executive producing. Given the cast that’s involved, it seems probable that there will be a particular focus on comedy as opposed to outright horror, though the director has teased plenty of horror as well. In any case, the cast is very intriguing and it will be interesting to see who else may be joining the ensemble.
Universal Pictures will develop Renfield as a part of the studio’s overall plans to push out more filmmaker-driven projects based on the classic Universal monster movies. Samantha Nisenboim is executive producing Renfield with Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst producing. Ryan Ridley (Ghosted, Rick & Morty) wrote the screenplay.
“It’s a Dracula story but told from a different point of view,” Chris McKay told The Playlist, teasing the many different genre elements that will be present in Renfield. “And to me, at the end of the day, it’s a movie about codependency. It’s going to be an action movie, it’s going to be a horror movie, it’s going to be a comedy, a lot is going on in Renfield, but yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Ben Schwartz previously won an Emmy for his music on the opening number sung by Hugh Jackman at the Oscars telecast. He was later nominated for an Outstanding Actor award for his role in The Earliest Show. He has also had big roles in comedy shows like Parks and Recreation and Space Force. Schwartz also lends his voice to the titular speedster in Sonic the Hedgehog, and he can be heard back in that role in the upcoming sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2. He’s also a part of the ensemble cast of the upcoming Apple TV+ murder mystery comedy series The Afterparty with Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Ilana Glazer, and Dave Franco.
The Sonic voice will also continue to work on his voiceover roles with other big projects. Already the voice of Leo on the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, Schwartz will voice the character in an upcoming movie adaptation. He’s also attached to the voice cast of DC League of Super-Pets with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and can be heard in the new animated Paramount+ movie Rumble.
Renfield doesn’t have a set release date at this time and it’s not yet clear exactly when filming is slated to start on the project. This news comes to us from Variety.
