Filmmaker Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, Centurion) is attached to direct The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The project details Dracula's journey from Transylvania to England, as told from the perspective of the (doomed) passengers aboard the eponymous sea vessel. Bragi F. Schut (Season of the Witch) wrote the script more than eight years ago, well before Hollywood became infected with its current Dracula movie epidemic.
Last Voyage of the Demeter changed hands several times prior to Marshall being hired on. David Slade (Eclipse) was the last director onboard prior to Marshall; during Slade's term, the cast was to include Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, and Prometheus star, Noomi Rapace.
Bloody Disgusting has it on good authority that Oscar-nominee Viggo Mortensen has been offered a lead role in Last Voyage of the Demeter (not that of Dracula); the site has also been informed that Kingsley remains attached to portray the Demeter's captain in the film. Rapace is reported as "maybe" still onboard as the project's female lead (a character named Anna Billington), though her involvement may ultimately come down to scheduling. If Ridley Scott's Prometheus sequel comes together sooner, rather than later, that could force Rapace to skip on Demeter (more on that as the story develops).
Mortensen being broached with an offer to appear in Last Voyage of the Demeter doesn't guarantee his involvement. Last year, the actor was heavily rumored to sign on for either Snow White and the Huntsman or the Superman: Man of Steel reboot (where he would've played General Zod), but neither scenario panned out. There's also been discussion of late about how Mortensen's next move could be to reunite with director David Cronenberg, on either Maps to the Stars or a sequel to Eastern Promises (maybe both). It's possible that the chance to work with Marshall - along with a cast which includes Kingsley and Rapace - could be enough to entice Mortensen to sign on for Last Voyage of the Demeter instead.
The Dracula film is also a very different beast than the aforementioned big-budget flicks. Schut's script was most recently reworked by Lowell Cauffiel, author of the best-selling, true crime novels Eye of the Beholder and House of Secrets. However, Last Voyage of the Demeter is still described as a lean, mean horror-thriller, where the members of the Demeter crew are hunted down by the famous vampire, one by one - trapped within the confines of a rickety old ship, separated from civilization by the vast ocean. It's a setup which recalls such titles as Alien and Marshall's acclaimed cult-horror film, The Descent (hence, the director's involvement reads as a blessing).
Look for more updates on The Last Voyage of the Demeter in the foreseeable future.
Source: Bloody Disgusting