Dracula 2026 Ending Explained: How the New Luc Besson Movie Changes Drac’s Story

Spoilers travel for Luc Besson’s Dracula movie.

Dracula deed US theaters this weekend, aft already opening successful immoderate parts of the satellite past twelvemonth (titled Dracula: A Love Tale successful immoderate markets), the latest successful a agelong enactment of movie adaptations of Bram Stoker’s classical caller which spell backmost implicit a period astatine this point.

Written and directed by Luc Besson, this mentation is alternatively blatantly heavy influenced by Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It likewise extrapolates beyond what Stoker wrote by adding successful the thought that Dracula’s prey, Mina, is the reincarnation of the pistillate helium mislaid agelong ago, earlier helium became a vampire. Like successful the 1992 film, this Mina (Zoë Bleu) is drawn to Dracula (Caleb Landy Jones) erstwhile she meets him, and she yet some remembers her erstwhile beingness with him and really wants him to crook her into a vampire truthful they tin beryllium unneurotic forever. In the midst of this, Mina’s fiance, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), and others effort to halt the Count and escaped her, whether she wants them to oregon not.

However, determination are galore places successful the Besson movie wherever the specifics alteration from some the novel, Coppola’s film, and so astir versions of Dracula. This is an often wacky, heightened and offbeat mentation of the story, with immoderate additions that are sometimes amusing, sometimes baffling, and sometimes a spot of both.

Here are 4 of the astir notable differences successful Besson’s Dracula, including the details of Dracula’s eventual fate…

The Biggest Changes successful Dracula 2026

Beware the Perfume of Dracula

The scope of Dracula’s abilities, and the abilities of vampires successful general, is often antithetic depending connected who’s telling the story, but helium is often depicted arsenic capable to enthrall oregon hypnotize those he’s successful adjacent proximity to, often mounting them up to beryllium bitten by him. Besson’s Dracula goes successful a chaotic absorption with this conception though, not making it an innate powerfulness of the vampire astatine all, but alternatively thing helium yet tin execute with… a magic perfume?

Yes, acknowledgment to the assistance of a world-class perfume shaper successful Italy – who really proclaims “Mamma mia!” astatine 1 constituent – Dracula has a perfume that bewitches anyone adjacent who smells it. He wants this due to the fact that helium wants to gully beauteous overmuch each pistillate imaginable to him truthful helium tin effort to find the 1 who is the resurrection of his beloved Elisabeta, who helium believes he’s fated to discover.

This perfume is heavy featured successful the film, including successful a dance-filled (!) montage series showing Dracula attending 1 fancy relation aft different wherever the women each swoon and past interruption into heavy choreographed radical numbers, arsenic he’s continually disappointed that nary of them are Elisabeta.

The perfume becomes specified a focal constituent that it’s casual to presume it mightiness beryllium an important origin successful the last enactment successful immoderate way... But that presumption would beryllium wrong.“

The perfume becomes specified a focal constituent of the movie for a clip that it’s casual to presume that it mightiness beryllium an important origin successful the last enactment successful immoderate mode - whether it is acknowledgment to Dracula utilizing it 1 past time, oregon different quality getting ahold of it. But that presumption would beryllium wrong.

What’s successful a Name?

Besides the rubric character, the Besson movie includes 2 different large characters you’d expect successful immoderate Dracula adaptation, Mina and Jonathan Harker, who astatine slightest lucifer the basal model of their classical roles - Jonathan arsenic a solicitor who travels to spot Dracula connected business, lone to larn the information astir the Count, and Mina arsenic Jonathan’s fiance, who Dracula sets his sights on.

Strangely though, each different supporting quality is fixed a caller sanction (or, successful 1 noteworthy case, nary sanction astatine all) adjacent though it’s wide who they’re based upon oregon meant to beryllium variations of. So basically, they propulsion a Half-Nosferatu. Most salient successful this respect is Christoph Waltz’s never-named “Priest,” a seen-it-all feline who’s got plentifulness of cognition astir vampires and is acceptable to hunt them. This is intelligibly the film’s mentation of the celebrated vampire slayer, Abraham Van Helsing, albeit with a vocation swap from prof to priest. Given his abundant surface time, the determination to ne'er springiness him immoderate sanction astatine each successful the movie is odd, though this Dracula’s got plentifulness of unusual to spell around.

Typically, Mina’s longtime champion person successful the story, Lucy, is transformed into a vampire herself arsenic the communicative progresses. In the caller movie, Lucy’s replaced by Maria (Matilda De Angelis) successful what is simply a much drastic change-up than others. Unlike the guiltless Lucy, Maria is successful information already a longtime vampire, moving for Dracula, who inserts herself into Mina’s life. Then, Maria is locked up successful an asylum acknowledgment to her unexplainable, convulsive and retired of power behavior, arsenic her Dracula-adoring ravings fundamentally crook her into a hybrid of Lucy and Dracula’s accustomed existent believer, Renfield, who has nary different corollary here.

Maria’s fiance, Henry Spencer (David Shields), meantime is simply a substitute for Lucy’s fiance, Arthur Holmwood, portion Dumont (Guillaume de Tonquédec) swaps successful for John Seward, though there’s nary quality taking the spot of Quincey Morris, with this mentation dropping the thought of Lucy/Maria having 3 competing suitors earlier she ends up with Arthur/Henry. In the publication and immoderate movie versions, Quincey plays a beauteous large relation successful helping decision Dracula, but arsenic we’ll screen below, this mentation of the movie goes successful a antithetic absorption there, truthful helium wasn’t needed…

Drac’s Little (Gargoyle) Buddies

In astir versions of Dracula, if the Count isn’t unsocial successful his castle arsenic the communicative begins, he’s accompanied by his Brides, who are typically 3 beauteous vampire women who bash his bidding (and usually marque things hard for Jonathan Harker during his enactment there). Besson discards Dracula’s Brides, alternatively replacing them with different left-field prime successful the signifier of a ample radical of diminutive gargoyles who are determination to service their maestro successful immoderate mode helium needs, whether it beryllium serving food, helping trap his prisoners or, successful the last act, battling a radical of vampire hunters storming the castle with a accomplishment acceptable that seems Black Widow-adjacent successful presumption of martial arts prowess and spinning larger guys astir with their legs.

During the people of the story, we ne'er truly get an mentation for who these guys are and however they link to Dracula’s presumption arsenic a vampire. But then, successful the last moments, aft Dracula dies, determination is simply a ocular uncover of their existent identity, arsenic they stumble retired of the castle, present transformed into a radical of bald small boys, which is presumably their archetypal form.

Seriously, what’s up with these small gargoyle dudes?! “

Of course, this inactive doesn’t genuinely explicate things. Were these kids transformed into gargoyles each astatine erstwhile oregon 1 astatine a clip done the years? And wherefore are they lone children? Their translation backmost to quality occurring aft Dracula dies implies helium personally had the powerfulness to alteration radical into gargoyles, truthful did it lone enactment connected kids? And hey, wherefore are they each bald?

Seriously, what’s up with these small gargoyle dudes?!

Dracula Ending Explained: Dead and Hating It

Unless you’re going to alteration things up radically, an adaptation of Dracula is going to astir apt extremity with Dracula being defeated and dying (even if there’s yet a sequel that someway brings him back). This mentation doesn’t stray from that, albeit with its ain rotation connected however it plays out, involving Dracula making his ain determination that helium should die.

In the archetypal Bram Stoker novel, Dracula is killed astatine the hands of Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris, portion Universal’s iconic 1931 movie version, starring Bela Lugosi, gave Van Helsing the grant of taking retired the Count. However, Dracula simply allowing himself to beryllium killed is not an wholly caller idea, depending connected however overmuch the communicative leans into the tragic broadside of things for the character. In the Coppola film, Gary Oldman’s Dracula is precise severely wounded – apt already fatally truthful – by Keanu Reeves’ Harker and Billy Campbell’s Quincey. So successful the last scene, erstwhile helium asks Winona Ryder’s Mina to “Give maine peace,” and she tearfully obliges, it feels similar helium already wasn’t long(er) for this world.

Caleb Landy Jones arsenic Dracula.

Here, Dracula ends up having a large alteration of bosom astir turning Mina into a vampire and having her go 1 of the undead alongside him, having already been reluctant to bash truthful erstwhile she asked him to wound her. When his castle is attacked by a full platoon of soldiers gathered by Henry, Dracula efficiently wipes retired anyone that helium comes across. He spares Jonathan, though helium does termination Henry, fundamentally giving Henry the decease Quincey has astatine this constituent successful the archetypal story, wherever helium dies helping instrumentality retired Dracula.

But erstwhile Dracula and Van Hels… Um, erstwhile helium and Priest travel look to face, Priest doesn’t onslaught him and they don’t battle. Instead, they simply talk. And fundamentally Priest says, "Dude, travel on, you should fto maine termination you" and Dracula goes, "You cognize what? Fair."

Okay, it’s not rather that, but it’s not excessively acold off. Essentially, Dracula comes to hold that his damned beingness is nary damn beingness astatine each and helium doesn’t privation to condemn Mina to it too. His decease volition escaped her from completing the alteration into a vampire that she’s going through, and truthful helium allows the Priest to stab him with a metallic (not wooden) stake. This doesn’t instantly termination him, and successful 1 much echo/twist connected the Coppola film, helium past spends his last moments with Mina.

In Coppola’s movie, helium was looking similar his old, decrepit mentation erstwhile he’s dying, lone to alteration into his younger aforesaid successful his precise past moments. Here, it’s fundamentally the reverse, arsenic helium goes from youthful to becoming the visually older Dracula arsenic he’s dying, adjacent arsenic Mina holds him and weeps for him. The Priest told Dracula helium could redeem himself successful God’s eyes done his sacrifice, and by redeeming Mina from a cursed fate, and helium looks to beryllium proven correct. Because aft Dracula dies, helium archetypal turns to particulate (a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s staked vamps) earlier his ashes alert up into the air, retired the model and up into the sky.

In the midst of this, Jonathan walks successful and sees Mina crying implicit the ashes and wisely leaves the room. Because erstwhile your fiance is crying implicit a dormant vampire’s dusty remains, she’s astir apt not excessively focused connected however you’re doing astatine the moment.

What bash you deliberation of the changes to this caller mentation of Dracula? Let’s sermon successful the comments, and ballot successful our canvass too!