In July last year, Peepingmoon.com exclusively revealed that Ayushmann Khurrana will star alongside Samantha Ruth Prabhu in Dinesh Vijan’s next big-scale production. We later informed the readers that it’s a part of the producer’s proposed "Horror-Comedy Universe" and will feature Ayushmann in the role of a vampire. The film was originally supposed to go on floors at the end of 2022 but was delayed for a number of reasons. The makers then announced Stree 2 as their top priority, and since then there has been no update on the Ayushmann-Samantha film, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the film’s future. However, we can now firmly confirm that the movie is very much happening and will likely go on floors at the end of this year. 

"The shooting timelines are not yet decided as there are still many permutations and combinations to be worked out. However, the movie is unquestionably going to be made, and Maddock Films will make an official announcement soon. The film has been titled ‘Vampires of Vijay Nagar’ and will be helmed by Amar Kaushik. The director will get into this project after finishing Stree 2, which goes into production around June this year," a source close to the development told us, adding that they are eyeing to start the vampire film by the end of this year or early in 2024. 

"Vampires of Vijay Nagar" expands Maddock Films and Jio Studios’ cinematic universe of horror-comedy movies, which is expected to begin interacting in one another's narratives in the future. The Ayushmann-Samantha starrer is the fifth standalone film in the series, which began in 2018 with Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree and was later followed by Janhvi Kapoor’s Roohi and Varun Dhawan’s Bhediya. Marathi filmmaker Aditya Sarpotdar’s Munjha, currently in production and starring Bunty Aur Babli 2 actress Sharvari Wagh, will be the next film in the franchise to hit cinemas, followed by Stree 2 and the vampire film. Varun Dhawan’s monster comedy Bhediya 2 is also in the works for a 2025 release. 

Meanwhile, Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films has announced as many as 12 films in partnership with Jio Studios. The slate includes Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon’s untitled robot-romcom, Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan’s Zara Hatt Ke Zara Bach Ke, Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal’s Sector 36, Huma Qureshi and Mrunal Thakur’s Pooja Meri Jaan, Vaani Kapoor’s Sarvgunn Sampann, and Radhika Madan’s Rumi Ki Sharafat. Also in the pipeline are Sriram Raghavan’s war drama, Ikkis, starring Agastya Nanda and Dharmendra; Laxman Utekar’s Chhatrapathi Sambhaji Maharaj biopic, Chaava, starring Vicky Kaushal; Parineeti Chopra and Sunny Kaushal’s Shiddat 2, directed by Maharani fame Karan Sharma; and Amar Kaushik’s Stree 2, Vampires of Vijay Nagar, and Bhediya 2.