See Jonathan Bailey, Maggie Gyllenhaal and More Stars in BTS First Look at “Dracula” Full-Cast Audiobook (Exclusive)
See Jonathan Bailey, Maggie Gyllenhaal and More Stars in BTS First Look at “Dracula” Full-Cast Audiobook (Exclusive)
Bailey RichardsThu, September 24, 2026 at 2:16 PM UTC
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Jonathan Bailey and Maggie GyllenhaalCredit: Ian West/PA Images via Getty; Maria Moratti/Getty -
Jonathan Bailey, Maggie Gyllenhaal and more star in a reimagined audio production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula
PEOPLE can exclusively share video offering a first look at the Audible Original, which arrives Oct. 1
Bailey, Gyllenhaal, Ella Purnell, Aimee Lou Wood and more Dracula cast members appear in the BTS clip
Some of the biggest names in film and television are lending their voices to one of the most iconic tales in the history of horror — and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look!
A star-studded cast including Jonathan Bailey, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aimee Lou Wood bring characters to life in a new audio production of Bram Stoker’sDracula, out Oct. 1. Catch a glimpse at the actors’ time working on the Audible Original in a new, behind-the-scenes video PEOPLE can exclusively share.
Clad in noise-canceling headphones, Bailey, 38, and Gyllenhaal, 48, record lines as the titular Dracula and Professor Van Helsing, respectively, in the first look at the reimagining of Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel.
Directed by Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary) and scored by Ilan Eshkeri (Stardust), the spooky Audible Original tells of the disappearance of Jonathan Harker when he visits Transylvania. As Harker’s fiancée, Mina, turns to letters and other documents to piece together what happened, she realizes that she’s being hunted by the same predator.
The upcoming audiobook puts a new spin on the classic, reimagining the text as a psychological thriller — including casting Gyllenhaal as the Dutch doctor, who was originally penned to be a man and has previously been portrayed in Dracula adaptations by Anthony Hopkins, Peter Cushing and more.
“We decided to make Van Helsing a woman, and it brought a real fresh energy to that character,” says Mariele Runacre-Temple, director of production and casting for Audible, of the decision to swap the characters’ genders.
Elsewhere in the video, Gyllenhaal explains that the format allows listeners to use their imaginations.
“You decide what the room looks like and you decide what her dress looks like and you decide what her hair looks like,” the filmmaker, who recently ventured into horror with The Bride!, says in the BTS clip. “I’m almost making a movie in my mind.”
The English-language Dracula production additionally stars Louis Partridge as Jonathan, Ella Purnell as Mina, Aimee Lou Wood as Lucy, David Jonsson as Dr. Seward, Lesley Manville as Mrs. Westenra, Johnny Flynn as Renfield, Francis Lovehall as Arthur.
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Several of the cast members — including Jonsson, 32, and Wood, also 32 — can also be seen reading lines in the first look, while others tease what listeners can expect from the nearly six-hour reimagining of Stoker’s legendary tale.
Jonathan Bailey; Maggie GyllenhaalCredit: Ian West/PA Images via Getty; Maria Moratti/Getty
Wood teases that “this version is going to be so immersive,” and Lovehall, 31, says the format of the horror story “changes the entire thing — it really becomes an intellectual battle as opposed to a physical one.”
Meanwhile, Purnell, 30, teases the drive of her character, Mina — who has previously been played by actresses like Winona Ryder and Isabelle Adjani — in the upcoming Audible Original.
“She’s so motivated to take Dracula down and outsmart him,” says the Yellowjackets star.
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Dracula is a new addition to Audible Original’s roster of classics, also including George Orwell’s1984 and Jane Austen’sPride and Prejudice.
The international casts will feature Omar Sy and Deva Cassel (French); Matthias Schweighöfer and Jeanne Goursaud (German); Riccardo Scamarcio and Benedetta Porcaroli (Italian); Asier Etxeandía and Claudia Salas (Castilian Spanish) and Esmeralda Pimentel (Latin American Spanish).
The newDracula audio production will be released on Oct. 1 and is now available for preorder on Audible.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
