Superheroes may have saved Hollywood's summer, but will bloodsuckers give the entertainment industry its next big boost?
Lost Boys 2 aside, vampires are staking a claim on viewers, both on the silver screen and the home set: HBO's bloodsucking drama True Blood was recently renewed for a second season, and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight is expected to ravage the box office this winter.
Here's a quick rundown of other vamp projects in the pipeline. Do any of these stand a chance of clawing their way to the top of a market saturated with superheroes? The comments section awaits.
I Am Legend__ prequel:__ Will Smith is slated to reprise his role as brilliant scientist Robert Neville (pictured) in a prequel to creepy 2007 thriller *I Am Legend, *according to Variety. The film will detail the final moments before a man-made virus sparks a global pandemic that turns the majority of the world's population into darkseekers -- rabid, zombielike vampires. Release date: TBD
__Let the Right One In: __Cloverfield director Matt Reeves has been signed to write and direct a remake of Swedish horror film Let the Right One In, a story about a fragile, young boy befriended by a vampire girl. The film is slated to be produced by legendary horror studio Hammer Films, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Release date: 2010
__Thirst: Universal Pictures snapped up Korean __director Park Chan-Wook's (Oldboy) upcoming film about a priest who inherits a deadly thirst after he participates in a bungled medical experiment, Variety reports. *Release date: 2009 *
Virulents: Spawned by a graphic novel from newly liquidated Virgin Comics, Virulents follows the story of a group of soldiers who stumble into a nest of zombie-vampire hybrids. John Moore, director of Max Payne and 2006's The Omen, is attached as director and producer. Release date: 2009
The Strain: Hellboy auteur Guillermo Del Toro plans to pen a trilogy of vampire books with crime author Chuck Hogan, according to BBC News*. The first installment, The Strain, will begin to outline the mythology of the nightwalkers, including their history, physiology, lore and roots. Release date: 2009 *
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