Ernest Dickerson will direct The Un-Dead, a new chapter to Bram Stoker's Dracula that has been endorsed by the author's family, according to Variety.

The film is based on a novel written by Stoker's great grand-nephew, Dacre Stoker, and Ian Holt. Holt wrote the script.

The plot picks up 25 years after the original book which the 1931 film was based on. New characters include Jack the Ripper and the infamous Madame Bathory.

The Stoker family endorsement is cosmetic, since the original book is in the public domain, but the sequel does have interesting ties to the original.

Production will begin in Eastern Europe late in the year.