Move over, Robert Pattinson, there’s a new vampire in town! The latest star to snap on a pair of pointy fangs is Downton Abbey‘s Matthew Goode, according to Variety.
He’ll play charming bloodsucker Matthew Clairmont in an adaptation of A Discovery of Witches, the popular fantasy novel by author Deborah Harkness.
It tells the story of Diana Bishop, a professor in the history of alchemy at the University of Oxford, who, in the course of her research, stumbles on a secret underworld of demons and vampires.
So far, so Philip Pullman, crossed with a dash of Twilight and Harry Potter for good measure. Matthew’s character is a geneticist (not to mention a not-so secret vampire), who helps Diana decode a mysterious manuscript and embrace her own true nature as the descendent of witches.
Or, as the head of drama for British TV channel Sky, Anne Mensah, put it, expect a “proper love story” that also examines “science, magic and being ‘other’ in the modern world.”
Deborah was on hand yesterday (August 22) to make the casting announcement herself, calling Matthew an “amazingly talented and brilliant actor.” She also revealed that Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) will take the role of Diana.
And according to Deborah, filming will start in Wales in a few weeks. The show will broadcast on Sky in the U.K., and, though it’s yet to be announced, is likely to air in the U.S. at some point too.
Can you see Matthew as a vampire?