Avatar director Sam Worthington, making his first deal since the success of Avatar, is in negotiations to star in Dracula Year Zero.

The Universal project explores the origin of Dracula, weaving vampire mythology with the true history of Prince Vlad the Impaler. It seeks to depict Dracula as a flawed hero in a tragic love story set in a dark age of magic and war.

Alex Proyas (The Crow) will direct from a spec script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The project has no start date and is still in development. Web site Latino Review first reported Worthington’s involvement.

By playing Dracula, Worthington is continuing to take on larger-than-life roles and big studio projects. While he will be seen in the Helen Mirren thriller The Debt, his next role is Greek hero Perseus in Clash Of The Titans. Last summer he played a cyborg in Terminator Salvation. [Source]