Shohreh Aghdashloo, who portrayed Chrisjen Avasarala on The Expanse, is joining the upcoming movie Renfield. It stars Nicolas Cage as Dracula, but it isn’t about Dracula himself so much as his bug-eating lackey Renfield, who will be played by Nicholas Hoult.
Per Slash Film, Renfield is a horror comedy which sees Dracula’s assistant strike out on his own, intent on starting a new life for himself where he isn’t just taking orders from Nicolas Cage. This story is set in the modern day, though we don’t know too many details about what that means for the broader plot. While living apart from Dracula, Renfield falls in love with a “feisty, perennially angry, traffic cop” played by Awkwafina. The film also stars Adrian Martinez (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) and Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation).
Shohreh Aghdashloo will play a crime lord in Renfield
As for Aghdashloo, she will reportedly play a character named “Ella,” a feared crime lord with a “huge personality.” That sounds like the kind of role that Aghdashloo would kill. She’s brought tons of presence to projects ranging from her recent stint on The Expanse to 24 to House of Sand and Fog and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Her signature gravelly voice also featured recently on the Netflix show Arcane.
Really, we’d bet on Aghdashloo being amazing no matter the project, and the idea of her facing off against Nicolas Cage’s Dracula or Nicholas Hoult’s bumbling Renfield sounds pretty entertaining. When you take into account that Renfield is being produced by The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman and written by Ryan Ridley (Rick and Morty), this could be a fun movie with some pretty messed up humor.
Renfield is expected to begin filming sometime in 2022.
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