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Sam Worthington starred in the most successful film of all time, he's about to Clash with Titans, and now he could be cast as Dracula.

There's no question that Worthington is the man of the moment and, according to Latino Review, he's the first choice to play the fanged-one in Alex Proyas’ Dracula: Year One.

Universal are apparently on the brink of assembling their film slate for 2011, and one of the contenders to be given the green light is Proyas’ film.

Proyas has been talking about directing Dracula: Year One since 2008, and he's described the 15th Century origin story as being a mix of Bram Stoker legend and the history of Dracula's alter-ego Prince Vlad the Impaler. Dracula: Year Zero – which Proyas has been trying to get off the ground for a while now – virtually ignores the Bram Stoker novel and instead, tells the tragic tale of how Vlad the Impaler, the legendary Romanian ruler who made a habit out of impaling his enemies on huge spikes (hence the name) and the figure who inspired a fair chunk of Stoker’s arch-villain, became the baddest bloodsucker of them all.

There is no Van Helsing here. No Mina Murray. No Jonathan Harker. Instead, what there is, if early script reports are to be believed, is an epic love story filled with huge battles and a lead character who gives into evil for noble reasons. Worthington would not be playing a glowering Christopher Lee type, but a tortured and often heroic soul, fighting the growing darkness within.

The script has been written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, who recently wrote the Flash Gordon reboot for Sony. The addition of Worthington as Vlad could be the extra incentive Universal needs to finally say yes.