It is said to be the place where Vlad the Impaler, prince of Wallachia, was taken prisoner by John Hunyadi, military leader and regent of Hungary during the king’s minority. Vlad III later entered into a political alliance with John Hunyadi, although the latter was responsible for the execution of his father, Vlad II Dracul. Because of these links, Hunedoara Castle is sometimes mentioned as a source of inspiration for Dracula’s castle in Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel, Dracula. In fact, Stoker knew nothing about Vlad’s alliance with Hunyadi, nor about Hunyadi Castle. Instead, Stoker’s own handwritten research notes confirm that the novelist imagined Dracula’s castle to be located on an empty hilltop in the Călimani Mountains of Transylvania, near the ancient border with Moldavia.
A number of film productions have been shot in this mysterious castle, among others;
The film Nostradamus (1994) directed by Roger Christian.
The miniseries The Damned Kings (2005), five episodes were filmed at the château.
The film Jacquou le Croquant (2006) directed by Laurent Boutonnat.
The music video for Kelly Clarkson’s Don’t Waste Your Time, filmed in 2007, shows the castle as a backdrop several times.
The film Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance (2012), directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, in sequences from the beginning of the film.
The film Fright Night 2 (2013).
Age of Empires II: The Forgotten (2013) the civilisation of the Magyar people in the video game, has the castle as its building.
The final action sequence of the Bollywood film Singh Is Bling (2015), directed by Prabhu Deva, was filmed.
Dragonheart: Battle for the Heart of Fire (2017) directed by Patrik Syversen. The fourth installment of the Dragonheart saga.
It was used as the ‘Monastery of Cârța’ in the horror film The Nun (2018), directed by Corin Hardy.
In Matthew Shardlake’s Disney+ series (2024).
The exterior of the castle was used to film sequences for the film Nosferatu (2024), directed by Robert Eggers.
(Source: wikipedia).