Marc Forster Will Direct Cowboy Ninja Viking For Universal

Deadline reports that Universal has hired Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, Machine Gun Preacher) to direct Cowboy Ninja Viking. Forster is currently wrapping up the Brad Pitt zombie action film World War Z. This relatively unknown comic book film got some heat when Zombieland/Deadpool writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese signed on to write the film's script when it was originally setup at Disney. The studio ended up passing on the film as it was too edgy for the family friendly Disney. Universal would eventually take on the project and it's finally moving forward.

Sony Developing A Dracula Franchise

Hollywood seems to have found their new Snow White as a third Dracula project is now in development. Deadline reports that Sony Pictures has bought a pitch from writer Jason Keller focusing on a new untitled Dracula film. Details are scarce on the project but it's expected to be yet another origin story mixing the mythology of Dracula and real life Vlad The Impaler stories. The studio is aiming to develop this as a period piece franchise. It seems to have a bit of weight behind it with producer Joe Roth attached to it.

Roth is best known for producing Alice In Wonderland along with upcoming films Snow White And The Huntsman, Oz, The Great And Powerful and the Sleeping Beauty film Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie. Keller's credits are a mixed bag with films including the terrible looking Snow White cheese-fest Mirror, Mirror. Yet, he's also responsible for Machine Gun Preacher, rewrites on The Tomb (Stallone/Schwarzenegger) and a Michael Mann racing project Go Like Hell. It's interesting to see Keller and Roth working together as the pair worked on competing Snow White films recently.

There are two other Dracula focused films in the works. The first one from Warner Bros., Harker is less similar to this movie as Jonathan Harker a Scotland Yard detective focusing the trail of murders by Dracula being mistaken as a serial murderer. Universal's Dracula Year Zero seems to be the direct competition here as they both feature on the Vlad The Impaler connection. It's unknown at this point if this will be a more fantasy cutesy inspired Dracula take similar to Alice or darker in tone like Huntsman. One thing is for sure that the idea that it's being looked as a franchise means it's going to be a PG-13.