Summary

The highly anticipated Blacula reboot, based on the 1972 blaxploitation horror movie, is scheduled to release around Halloween 2024. Deon Taylor, known for his work on Fear and Meet the Blacks, will be directing the reboot from a screenplay he co-wrote. This will be the third entry in the Blacula franchise, following the original movie and its 1973 sequel Scream Blacula Scream, starring Pam Grier.

The Blacula reboot has reportedly set a release window. The movie is an update of the iconic 1972 blaxploitation horror movie, which starred William Marshall as Mamuwalde, an African prince who was transformed into a vampire by Count Dracula himself in 1780 and trapped in a coffin until he was released in modern-day America. The reboot was originally announced in 2021 with Fear and Meet the Blacks’ Deon Taylor attached to direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Micah Ranum.

Variety recently ran a piece on an upcoming 50th anniversary screening of Blacula. However, the report also reveals that the Blacula reboot is set to premiere around Halloween 2024. While the exact date has not yet been announced, Halloween is perfect timing for the monster movie reboot, which is the third Blacula title after the original movie and the 1973 sequel Scream Blacula Scream, which co-starred blaxploitation icon Pam Grier.

Halloween 2024 Is Getting More And More Interesting

Although the lead-up to Halloween is a time when many horror movies are watched or rewatched across the globe, in recent years the month of October hasn’t always been the most stacked with theatrical horror titles. In fact, in 2023, the only major wide-release horror movies to be released in October were The Exorcist: Believer and the upcoming Five Nights at Freddy’s movie. Many horror movies, such as this year’s The Nun II and Saw X, are released in September instead, perhaps aiming to hit theaters early and leaving enough time to land on streaming before Halloween.

However, next October seems potentially set to reverse this trend. Blacula is already the second movie to be given pride of place in October 2024, presuming release dates don’t shift in the meantime during the ongoing Screen Actors Guild strike as actors fight for fair pay. Movie releases aren’t frequently announced this far ahead, so it seems likely that more horror movies will be added to the schedule in the year between the time of writing and Halloween 2024.

The other horror movie alongside Blacula will be the sequel Smile 2, which sees original Smile director Parker Finn returning. Smile 2 is currently set to premiere on October 18, 2024. However, both movies will be preceded by the October 4 release of Joker: Folie à Deux, a sequel that – while not strictly a horror movie – will contain psychological thriller elements and help boost the Halloween atmosphere as well.

Source: Variety