We’ve had sequels. We’ve has prequels. Reboots are old hat at this point. What’s next?
How about… midquels. That’s right, sort of sequels that take place in the middle of another story. They’re not quite new: The Horse and His Boy takes place during The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Saw IV happens during Saw III. But they’re rare! And now we’re about to get a new one.
This midquel is called The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and it’s based on the chapter of Dracula where Bram Stoker recounts the Count’s voyage via boat from Transylvania to England. If you haven’t read Dracula you might be surprised to learn that the whole chapter is written in the form of the Demeter’s captain’s log – the whole book is weird like that. In the story, the Demeter ends up crashed on rocks with the crew gone and the dead captain tied to the wheel.
Marcus Nispel has signed on to direct a film version The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which is written by Bragi Schut, one of the credited writers on Season of the Witch, the movie that will see Dominic Sena directed Nicolas Cage against medieval witches. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.