Dracula Will Be Bisexual and Van Helsing Gender Swapped in New BBC1 Drama Series

BBC1 in the UK is rebooting the father of modern monsters, Dracula, with a twist on the character’s sexuality. According to The Sun, the new BBC drama, simply titled Dracula, will turn the centuries-old bloodsucker into a bisexual.

The iconic vampire will be played by Claes Bang who will use his powers of seduction on men and women alike.

The new drama series comes from Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, the pair behind the wildly popular BBC show Sherlock Homes which stars Benedict Cumberbatch.

To make his point, Mark Gatiss first emphasizes that they wanted to move away from Dracula’s traditional collection of beautiful women. This was famously shown in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula with the three concubines:

“He’s got broad tastes has this Dracula. It’s not just a collection of Sixties women with push-up bras this time.”

Mark adds that Dracula sees mortals as food with little differences between the sexes:

“Dracula has never discriminated, in so far as he can tell the difference between the sexes. He goes for his food but also people who interest him.”

Gatiss claims his view of Dracula is nothing new as he points to 1958’s Dracula starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

“This goes right the way back. There’s a moment at the end of a Hammer film with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing when he goes to bite him and it’s very, very homoerotic for its time.”

You can see the scene below, it begins around the 1:20 mark:

In the show’s trailer, seen below, Dracula confronts a young Lord Ruthven. He tells him, “Try and stay calm, you’re doing very well.” As the Count tells the young Lord Ruthven this, he touches the his face with his hand, stoking fear in his victim.

You can watch the trailer below:

Dracula isn’t the only character who will have some new changes. In this adaptation of Dracula, the legendary vampire hunter Professor Abraham Van Helsing will be a woman instead of a man. It looks like the BBC made sure to hit every checkbox possible.

Dracula is expected to be released next year on BBC1.

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