Nicolas Cage’s ‘Renfield’ Sets Streaming Premiere Date On Peacock

Fans of the horror genre and vampire themed classics must have relished the arrival of the horror comedy, Renfield. Having debuted in theaters earlier this year to a bit of a lackluster showing, a recent report from Deadline has revealed that Universal Pictures has set June 9th as the streaming release date for the horror comedy on Peacock.

Having premiered on April 14, the announcement of a streaming release date comes hot on the heels of a digital and VOD release that began on May 2. The horror comedy will also be released on Blu-ray & DVD in June as well. Starring Nicolas Cage as the iconic vampire himself, Count Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his titular lackey, Renfield who is always available at his beck and call, the picture had been expected to perform better than it did. However, given the shift to a different audience, it might offer the film the chance to garner momentum and develop a cult following which it sadly couldn’t manage while in theaters.

Renfield is based on Bram Stoker’s iconic 1897 novel, Dracula as many of the classic vampire films centered around this narcissistic character are. Directed by Chris McKay, the film follows the tale of Renfield who has been serving Dracula for centuries by procuring whatever he desires and doing his every bidding, no matter how degrading. But now, if only Renfield can find a way to end the toxic and slavish relationship with The Prince of Darkness, he will be able to look for a new life outside the shadows of his present circumstances.

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The Long History of Dracula Onscreen

The film is directed from a screenplay written by screenwriter Ryan Ridley. Additional cast members to the aforementioned Hoult and Cage include Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Adrian Martinez. McKay, Samantha Nisenboim, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst, Robert Kirkman and David Alpert produce the film, with Todd Lewis serving as executive producer. The production of Renfield continues a long history of films centered around the Prince of Darkness. The first one, a 1922 silent film directed by F. W. Murnau inspired heavily by German Expressionism, and based on Stoker’s work went on to become an influential movie of its era. After that came the 1979, Werner Herzog-directed Nosferatu the Vampyre.

Modern audiences are set to have a further taste of the legendary vampire when on August 11, Universal releases the latest portrayal of the character in The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Having only just wrapped filming recently, Robert Eggers’ long-awaited re-imagination of the movie Nosferatu is waiting in the wings to bring fangs back to our screens once more. The film will see Hoult return to the Dracula universe once more alongside Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp.

Check out the official trailer for the film below before it premieres on Peacock on June 9.