[url2]http://u.redlandsdailyfacts.com/Stories/0,1413,217~24244~1898078,00.html[]Redlands' Daily Facts[/url2] had een interview met Van Helsing regisseur Stephen Sommers:

[eng]You can be assured Jackman won't be playing your father's Van Helsing -- or "Dracula' author Bram Stoker's, either. "No,' Sommers teases. "It's his younger, hipper brother, I would say. I mean, as great as Anthony Hopkins and Peter Cushing were in the role -- and it's been played something like 150 times -- this character is somehow related. He's a professional monster fighter, but he's got more baggage to him.' As do his adversaries.

`I went into it saying it's not a movie about monsters,' Sommers reveals. "It's about people with very bad problems. So we got really great actors. Forget about the special effects for a second; just wait'll you see Richard Roxburgh's performance as Dracula or Shuler Hensley's as Frankenstein. They're just knockout great performances.'

Well, OK. But will there be "Mummy'-level visual effects? "In the old movies, Dracula turned into a bat,' Sommers says, trying to sound reassuring. "He should turn into a flying creature, but who's afraid of a bat? I'm not, I grew up with one in the belfry. But then I thought, if he had a 15-foot wingspan, that would be something. I just kind of went from there. I love going over these old movies, finding all the things we know about them and coming up with new stuff.'[/eng]

Prequel animatie
Overigens is ook bekend gemaakt dat Universal een paar dagen na het uitkomen van de film een 30 minuten durende animatie uit gaat brengen; een prequel die het een en ander uitlegt over de voorgeschiedenis, en -niet geheel onbelangrijk- een prima marketinginstrument. Het persbericht:

[eng]"Unveiling The Extraordinary Beginning of The Van Helsing Adventure With the All-New Original Animated Film Prequel. From The Director And Producers Of The Motion Picture Van Helsing Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay.

Features the voice of Van Helsing star Hugh Jackman. Loaded with bonus features, including cast and crew interviews and an in-depth look at Van Helsing's groundbreaking special effects".[/eng]