Next month Luke Evans will be going toe-to-toe with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and the rest of the Fast & Furious crew as the main villain of Justin Lin's Fast & Furious 6, but for his next antagonist turn he'll be playing a character with a bit more myth and legend behind him.
According to Variety, Evans has signed on for the titular role in Universal's upcoming Dracula, a new film based on Bram Stoker's most famous creation. Set to be directed by Gary Shore, who has been connected to the project since last February, the project is said to mix both "mythology and true history," and tell the story of Prince Vlad, a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler - the inspiration for Stoker's novel. According to the trade, Tom Hardy was also considered for the part, but the studio was so impressed by Evans' work in the upcoming car racing action flick that they decided to give the role to him.
The film, formerly known as Dracula: Year Zero, has actually been floating around Hollywood for a couple of years now, and was originally going to be directed by Alex Proyas and star Sam Worthington. Budget concerns ended up shutting it down before cameras could start to roll. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless wrote the latest draft of the script, but the newest report doesn't mention when they are planning to start production.
In addition to Fast & Furious 6, Evans will also appear later this year in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, playing the role of Bard (a significant part for those who have read the novel).
