After giving Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes an astute modern makeover in the television show Sherlock, creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat are set to bring Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic novel Dracula back to life. Like the detective show, Dracula will be in the miniseries format and will play out over feature-length episodes.
Dracula is the fictitious story of Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula’s battle with his archenemy Abraham Van Helsing. As of 2009, Dracula has seen as many as 217 film adaptations, succeeded by Sherlock Holmes with 223 films.
This will be the writer duo’s first collaboration after Sherlock. Gatiss and Moffat have previously worked together on the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, for which Moffat was showrunner for the past six years and Gatiss has written many episodes. Moffat, however, recently stepped down after the show’s tenth season.
The news led to plenty of suggestions of actors for the roles.
Dear Messrs Moffat & Gatiss, #Dracula is described as a "tall old man, clean shaven, save for a long white mustache". (gif @letmecomealong) pic.twitter.com/vATmqPV9v0
— Rupert Graves Fans (@GravesDiggers) June 20, 2017
Moffat: Dracula.
— Shu 🍁 (@FrostWells) June 20, 2017
Me: *automatically thinks of pcap as Dracula and jenna as Mina but knows it will never happen*
But some Dracula loyalists expressed their dismay.
Please don't Sherlock, Dracula. pic.twitter.com/uO4UaJPjRq
— Christopher Thomson (@MrCThomson) June 20, 2017
92% of Britons can't wait to see how Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat will ruin Dracula.
— Stats Britain (@StatsBritain) June 20, 2017