UNIVERSAL'S DARK UNIVERSE IS BACK

Sounds like it's official -- the Universal Dark Universe films are back on the drawing board. I remain skeptical that our beloved vintage monsters can walk (or stalk) a line between the classics and being "modernized" for today's audiences. Anyway, here's the scoop from Movieweb.

Dark Universe: All the Canceled Films Planned

Take a look at all the planned Universal Monsters remakes set for The Dark Universe that were canceled following box office bomb of The Mummy.

By Richard Fink | August 9, 2022 | movieweb.com

In film history, the 2010s will likely be written as the age of the shared universe. The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe inspired every studio in Hollywood to make attempts at crafting their own interconnected franchises. Warner Bros. has three with the DCEU consisting of their various DC heroes, The MonsterVerse which unites the Godzilla and King Kong franchises, and The Conjuring universe, which is arguably the second most successful cinematic universe after the MCU.

However, before all of these, Universal Studios actually originated the idea successfully during the 1930s and '40s with their Universal Monsters brand, which often saw the various different monsters crossing over with one another and fighting. It was highly popular, and even over 60 years removed from their original releases these films and characters (Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Invisible Man, Mummy) still speak to audiences. Their images have become iconic and known the world over. So it made sense that Universal Pictures would attempt to use these various monsters to make a new shared universe, and their plan was dubbed The Dark Universe.

The Dark Universe Begins - and Ends

Above: The cast of the Dark Universe, including Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Javier Bardem, and Russel Crowe

Getting a small unceremonious kick-off with 2014's Dracula Untold, the project really began to take shape with the release of 2017 with The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. The Mummy franchise was already successfully rebooted once into a profitable franchise, and with Tom Cruise one of the biggest action stars on the planet Universal Studios moved full steam ahead on their plans for a new franchise. They created a special logo, unveiled a publicity photo highlighting the movie star talent they acquired, and set The Mummy for a prime summer release date. Everything seemed ready to go, but once audiences saw The Mummy everything changed.

The Mummy received negative reviews from critics and audiences, and in its opening weekend came in number two at the box office behind Wonder Woman, which was in its second weekend. The Mummy made only $80 million domestically (it was slightly softened by a $409 million worldwide haul) but it appeared The Dark Universe was dead before it even began. Universal spent the summer of 2017 trying to salvage the franchise, but by the end of the year, it appeared everyone had moved on and all new adaptations and reimaginings of the classic monsters would be stand-alone pictures. With how much Universal Pictures was betting on this new franchise, they released a lot of headlines and details about their plans. Here is a breakdown of all the canceled films in Universal's Dark Universe.

Van Helsing

In 2004, Universal attempted to relaunch their classic monsters brand with the film Van Helsing and brought on The Mummy and The Mummy Returns director Stephen Sommers to hopefully recapture that magic for Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. Despite a massive marketing push and star power like Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, the movie was a box office disappointment.

However, Universal appeared interested in revisiting the idea, as in 2012 it was reported that the studio was considering a reboot alongside The Mummy in the early stages of what would become The Dark Universe. Initially, Tom Cruise was set to play the role of Van Helsing, but he eventually moved over to The Mummy. In 2017, it was reported that Universal Pictures was eying Channing Tatum for the part but just a few months later Universal scrapped their original Dark Universe plans.

Johnny Depp's Invisible Man

Johnny Depp Is The Invisible Man in Universal Monsters UniverseUniversal Pictures

Universal Pictures had been developing a new version of The Invisible Man since at least 2006, but the project truly picked up steam in February 2016 when Johnny Depp signed on to play the title character. Ed Solomon (Men in Black) was set to pen the script, and it was confirmed that The Invisible Man would be set within the upcoming shared universe Universal Studios was planning. Depp was seen in the Dark Universe publicity photo released in 2017 alongside The Mummy stars Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, and Russell Crowe, as well as Javier Bardem who had signed on to play Frankenstein's monster.

However, the combination of The Mummy's box office disappointment and troubling headlines surrounding Depp and his divorce from star Amber Heard resulted in the project being scrapped. It was eventually reworked into the smaller stand-alone version released in 2020 by producer Jason Blum, a feminist horror modern classic that went on to gross $143.1 million worldwide.

Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback

Hunchback and Phantom Become Part of Universal's Dark UniverseUniversal Pictures

While not as immediately iconic members of the Universal Monsters, both Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback are two of Universal Picture's oldest movie monsters. Universal Pictures released two versions of Phantom of the Opera, the first in 1925 starring Lon Chaney and a remake in 1943 starring Claude Rains. Universal Pictures released The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923 which also featured Lon Chaney as the titular monster.

While no official plans were made regarding these two projects, Dark Universe architect and The Mummy director Alex Kurtzman did name-drop both of the characters as monsters the franchise wished to explore.

Dwayne Johnson's The Wolfman

The Wolf Man is part of the trinity of Universal movie monsters, alongside Dracula and Frankenstein. Universal Pictures had been working on a remake for years that went through various directors and release dates that finally was released in 2010 titled The Wolfman and starred Benicio Del Toro. The film was a box office and critical disappointment, but with a new shared universe that would unite the various monsters, The Wolfman was certainly a priority. While no release date was ever set for The Wolfman and no director ever signed on, it was rumored that Dwyane Johnson was the studio's top pick Interesting Johnson had previously played a new Universal monster The Scorpion King in 2001's The Mummy Returns, and the spin-off film The Scorpion King.

The new version of The Wolfman never materialized and once The Dark Universe concept was scrapped, the project shifted to being a stand-alone film. Now it will star Ryan Gosling in the lead role.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Ben Chapman as The Gillman in Creature from the Black Lagoon.Universal Pictures

Of all the Universal Monsters, Creature from the Black Lagoon has been the one that Universal Studios has had the most difficulty with over the years. In the 90s, long before the Dark Universe plans were crafted, John Carpenter, Peter Jackson, and Ivan Reitman were all approached to helm a remake. In 2002 Guillermo Del Toro signed on to direct the remake and wanted to tell it from the creature's point of view. Del Toro was let go, but he eventually turned that concept into the 2017 film The Shape of Water which won Best Picture at that year's Academy Awards. In 2005 Breck Eisner signed on but the Writers Guild of America Strike delayed the project even more.

Within the Dark Universe, Creature from the Black Lagoon was one of the intended films as the hand of a Gil-Man-type creature can be seen in The Mummy. Will Beall was hired to write the film and rumors circulated that the studio was considering Scarlett Johansson for the lead role. Since the collapse of The Dark Universe, no plans have been made regarding the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The Bride of Frankenstein

The Bride of Frankenstein is the film that got the closest to screens before the box office bomb of The Mummy derailed the whole movie. David Koepp, the writer behind Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, signed on to write the film in 2015 with the script beginning in the 1870s, and later in the film the Bride would awaken in the present day. Bill Condon, hot off the box office hit of 2017's Beauty and the Beast, signed on to direct Bride of Frankenstein with a release date set for Valentine's Day 2019. The movie would star Angelina Jolie as the Bride of Frankenstein and Javier Bardem as Frankenstein's Monster.

In October 2017, shortly before filming was set to begin, the production was delayed to work on the script in response to the critical and box office failure of The Mummy that summer. The production delay meant they might lose Jolie and the studio was considering Gal Gadot to take over. Despite meeting with production heads in 2018, the plans for the Dark Universe were scrapped and The Bride of Frankenstein became another high-profile project with a lot of headlines that never materialized.

ONE HORROR FILM THAT SHOULD NEVER BE REMADE

Much like sequels, monster movie remakes have always been hit or miss. Some are good, a couple could be considered great and some, as Dr. Petrie found out in THE MUMMY'S HAND after breaking The Seal of the Seven Jackals, defy the gods and should be well enough left alone.

One of the latter is BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a 1935 sequel to the original Universal FRANKENSTEIN of 1931. No amount of writing, acting, makeup, art direction or filming would be able to come close to the near-perfect work of director James Whale, the acting of Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Ernest Thesiger and a host of Universal's character and supporting actors, or the makeup artistry of the incomparable Jack Pierce.

But, an online article from cinemablend.com reports that a BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN remake (reboot?) is in the works in a relaunch of the Dark Universe cycle. Angelina "Tomb Raider" Jolie was originally slated for the role of the Bride and Javier "No Country For Old Men" Bardem was cast as The Monster.

Here's the skinny:

Dark Universe Holdover Bride Of Frankenstein Has Found New Life At Universal
Adam Holmes | JUN. 12. 2020 | 6:30 PM | cinemablend.com

Back when Universal Pictures was still pushing ahead with its Dark Universe franchise, the plan was for a new version of Bride of Frankenstein to be the second movie out the gate, with The Mummy having kicked things off in summer 2017. As we all know, the Dark Universe failed to launch, and while Universal has pushed ahead with standalone movies centered on its iconic monsters, Bride of Frankenstein’s fate has been shrouded in uncertainty.

Back in February, it was reported that Oscar-winning producer Amy Pascal was looking for a way to bring Bride of Frankenstein to the big screen. As it turns out, the current health crisis has breathed new life into the project, with producer David Koepp, who wrote the Bride of Frankenstein script, revealing:

That was one thing I did during quarantine – I brought back Bride of Frankenstein into a place where I kind of always wanted it to be. Universal was very gracious to let me try again. Because they had geared up and shut down famously in the Dark Universe fiasco. Well, not fiasco, but disappointment. So I have a version now and they have a version that we all really like. I think they’re talking to directors now.

Originally slated to come out in February 2019, Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon was tapped to helm Bride of Frankenstein, with Angelina Jolie being lined up for the eponymous role and Javier Bardem playing Frankenstein’s monster. Things got far enough along in the creative process that sets started being constructed, but by October 2017, just four months after The Mummy failed to critically or commercially impress, Bride of Frankenstein’s release date was pulled and the Dark Universe shared continuity was scrapped.

Now though, it’s looking like Bride of Frankenstein is back on track to actually happening, per David Koepp’s comments to Collider. As for the scope of the feature, here’s what Koepp had to say when asked if Bride of Frankenstein would work off of the same kind “cost effective, highly profitable Blumhouse model” used on this year’s The Invisible Man, Koepp responded:

It’s not the great big, $150 million extravaganza with giant movie stars. It’s not as scaled down as Invisible Man but much more reasonable, doable thing, with, I think, a really cool idea and it’s all present day.

So now we know that while Bill Condon was originally selected to direct Bride of Frankenstein, a new filmmaker will be taking over that project, though it's hard to say who that will end up being. In the meantime, considering how well The Invisible Man performed, going a similar small-scale route with Bride of Frankenstein seems like the right call.

Bride of Frankenstein is just one of many Universal Monsters-related projects in development post-Dark Universe fall. Other include a James Wan-produced Frankenstein-like movie, a new Dracula movie directed by Karyn Kusama and a Wolfman reboot that will star Ryan Gosling.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates concerning Bride of Frankenstein, including which new director is ultimately brought on board.

ARE THE LIGHTS GOING OUT ON UNIVERSAL'S 'DARK UNIVERSE'?

After Tom Cruise's critically maimed THE MUMMY unraveled at the box office and was dusted up by reviewers, Universal is reconsidering a reboot of their "Dark Universe" reboot. Despite a worldwide gross of over $407 million, most of the proceeds came from overseas, and that is not a desirable financial outcome for a film made in Hollywood.

Now, under the pretense of "not rushing" into the next film (if you can call a projected released date of February, 2019 rushing), and with the script already being overhauled, I suspect that whatever idea they thought was going to work well with audiences has been trashed.

Also being reconsidered is the role of the Bride. While not fully committing, Angelina Jolie was the first choice, but now Gal "Wonder Woman" Gadot is rumored as her replacement.

Let's hope that the extra time will produce a film that will keep the Universal monster legacy from being nailed in the coffin.

MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD'S version of the Bride of Frankenjolie.

Dark Universe in Trouble, Bride of Frankenstein Indefinitely Delayed
By Ryan Scott| 10.05.2017| Movieweb.com
It looks like Universal's very lofty plans for the Dark Universe may have been a bit premature. Bride of Frankenstein is, or possibly was, intended to be the next movie in the studio's interconnected Dark Universe series of monster movies, following Tom Cruise's The Mummy, which arrived with a critical thud over the summer. Now we have word that Universal has, at least temporarily, pulled the plug on Bride of Frankenstein.

According to Deadline, pre-production was already taking place on the remake of the 1935 classic, which is set to be directed by Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast). Universal had pre-production stopped, with "the crew has just been told to go home for the time being." Despite the stoppage, Universal released a statement saying that they are still intending to make Bride of Frankenstein, but they don't want to be rushed to "meet a release date." Here's what they had to say about it:

"After thoughtful consideration, Universal Pictures and director Bill Condon have decided to postpone Bride of Frankenstein. None of us want to move too quickly to meet a release date when we know this special movie needs more time to come together. Bill is a director whose enormous talent has been proven time and again, and we all look forward to continuing to work on this film together."

Originally, Bride of Frankenstein was supposed to start shooting on February 1 in order to meet the previously announced February 14, 2019, release date. That isn't going to happen now, as David Koepp is reportedly doing rewrites on the script. It is also being reported that Javier Bardem, who is signed up to play Frankenstein's monster, and Angelina Jolie, who is in talks to play his reanimated bride, are both waiting in the wings and aren't leaving the project as of yet. Bill Condon also seems committed, as he recently spoke with Collider about his vision for the movie:

"This is Eve before Adam; the bride comes first. So in its own way, you know, we all know the Bride only exists for 10 minutes in the Whale movie. She's there and the movie's over. So I keep thinking [it's], in a way, at least a tribute to what Whale might have done if he'd made a third Frankenstein movie and he'd done it in the 21st Century,"

The Mummy was intended to launch the Dark Universe in epic fashion. That didn't go so well. The movie had a very troubled production, which resulted in a critical disaster. Currently, The Mummy, which did a lot of world building for the Dark Universe, has an ugly 16 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with an absolutely terrible 35 percent audience rating. Despite that, the movie managed to pull in $407.7 million worldwide. Though, more than 80 percent of that came from overseas. Certainly not what Universal was hoping for.

Can Universal's Dark Universe be saved?
Johnny Depp is also starring in The Invisible Man remake and there is a script being written for a Van Helsing reboot, among other projects. With Bride of Frankenstein put on pause, the future of at least some of these projects is in doubt, but Deadline didn't make any mention of what's going on with those projects in their report. It's probably best that Universal doesn't rush into something until it's right, given what happened with The Mummy. Still, this isn't the best way to kick off a new cinematic universe. Not by a long shot.

Bride of Frankenstein Wants Gal Gadot to Replace Angelina Jolie
By Brian Gallagher| 10.06.2017| Movieweb.com
Yesterday [October 5], Universal Pictures yanked Bride of Frankenstein from its February 14, 2019 release date and off its release schedule entirely, which lead some to speculate that the studio's nascent Dark Universe is already in big trouble. Now we have word that Angelina Jolie, who has been rumored for some time as the title character but never officially confirmed, may be backing away from the project, but if she does, director Bill Condon reportedly wants to bring on Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) to take her place. While nothing is official quite yet, it could mark quite the interesting development for this project, and the Dark Universe as a whole.

Shortly before the release of the first Dark Universe movie, The Mummy, Universal released a photo featuring The Mummy stars Tom Cruise (Nick Morton), Sofia Boutella (Ahmanet) and Russell Crowe (Dr. Henry Jekyl) but it also confirmed Javier Bardem as Frankenstein's monster in Bride of Frankenstein, and Johnny Depp as the title character in The Invisible Man. This new report from The Wrap claims that Javier Bardem's deal isn't finalized, and neither was Angelina Jolie's deal either. The report claims that the project has been in a "holding pattern," as director Bill Condon and the studio keep waiting to see whether or not Angelina Jolie will sign on or drop out of the project. Here's what an unidentified insider had to say about the project:

"This is fairly out of nowhere given how deep they were into prep over there, but not really surprising. Their mandate has more or less been that they wanted these to work as PG-rated action movies/theme-park rides, not horror movies. Basically, Fast and the Furious meets The Avengers, but with super monsters."

Another source stated they were surprised Universal is still moving forward with their Dark Universe, given how The Mummy flopped at the box office, which we reported in late June could result in losses of $95 million, despite a strong box office showing overseas. Still, it seems the studio is moving forward with this Dark Universe, which The Mummy helped set the table for. The entire universe will revolve around the mysterious corporation Prodigium, run by Dr. Henry Jekyl that has a mission to protect the world from supernatural creatures and beings. Director Bill Condon stated in an interview this week that he is not worried at all about how his movie connects to the Dark Universe, he's only concerned with making a great monster movie. Here's what the filmmaker had to say about the script that was written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park), which is much different than the original 1935 classic, directed by James Whale.

"What I love about David Koepp's script is he turns everything on its head. This is Eve before Adam, the bride comes first. So in its own way, you know, we all know the Bride only exists for 10 minutes in the Whale movie; she's there and the movie's over. So I keep thinking [it's], in a way, at least a tribute to what Whale might have done if he'd made a third Frankenstein movie and he'd done it in the 21st Century. I think there are just things about the sensibility of that movie. Also his genius in solving that basic problem you still see when people approach monster movies now, which is you've got to create a monster that you're afraid of, that you're terrified of, but you can still identify with, and that line was never walked better than by James Whale."

As for Gal Gadot, her reps wouldn't comment on the story, and there is no indication of whether or not she would be interested in taking on this iconic role. The actress is most certainly in demand, after starring in Warner Bros.' first DCEU hit, Wonder Woman, which became the highest-grossing movie of the summer, and she will next be seen reprising that heroic role next month when Justice League hits theaters. Gal Gadot will almost certainly come back for the Justice League sequel, and Warner Bros. already set a December 13, 2019 release date for Wonder Woman 2. Since Bride of Frankenstein has already been pushed out of its 2019 date, it's possible that Gal Gadot could fit this into her schedule after making the Justice League sequel and Wonder Woman 2, that is, if she's even interested in the role. This report from The Wrap has not yet been confirmed, so hopefully we'll find out more soon.

UNIVERSAL MONSTER REBOOT GETS KICKED TO THE CURB

I always thought it a little weird that movies are screened to "test" audiences before releasing them. Does this mean that the makers of these movies so out of touch with what audiences want to see that they have to serve it up to them before hand? It's these "how are we doing?" moments that really show how insecure the entire organism of Hollywood is. I wonder what test audiences thought of THE MUMMY, Universal's initial entry into their new, "Dark Universe".

When I first heard that Universal had plans to reboot its famed monster movies, I was momentarily excited. Only momentarily. At the expense of sounding anachronistic, I knew that there would be zero chance of seeing a modern revival of the classic monsters from the 30s and 40s. So far, the closest thing to that was 2010's THE WOLF MAN. Universal lost money on it, as it did not recoup its production costs.The L.A. Times called it one of the most expensive box office flops of all time. Personally, I liked it, with the exception of Anthony Hopkin's character, Sir John Talbot, and Emily Blunt as Gwen Conliffe, and the over-the-top father and son werewolf mashup at the climax of the movie. Well, I guess besides Benecio del Toro's role, the rest of it kinda stank. What made it work were the sets and the atmospheric cinematography. Otherwise, I was underwhelmed. The 1999 Mummy reboot fared considerably better, as it was a good, original story and included a charming cast of characters. I can't say the same for the two sequels that completed the modern trilogy.

Now, U is poised to again reintroduce its line of venerable monsters to the world, calling it the "Dark Universe, and beginning with, yet again, THE MUMMY, which opened last weekend. The results? Tepid is not too strong a word. Domestically, it brought in a measly $32.2 million, while its closest rival, WONDER WOMAN, buried it under $57.2 million in its second week. This does not bode well for a franchise that was, in the past, a studio lifesaver.

The critics have unanimously lambasted it. In the Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern called it "truly incomprehensible" and "defying comprehension". He went on to say that it was "subprofessional chaos with vague aspirations to parody." Ouch.

Tom Cruise landed the role of the adventurous archaeologist who battles the reanimated creature from ancient Egypt (played well, so it's been said, by the attractive 35-year old Algerian/French dancer, Sofia Boutella, sporting enough tats to make the target audience happy). Cruise, who shocked audiences by being chosen to play Anne Rice's immortal vampire, Lestat on the screen, has come full circle in the horror genre. Morgenstern calls Cruise's role in THE MUMMY, "unlikable" and "unheroic". While this is not the career-ender that some critics assert, Cruise is showing his age (he'll be 55 on 3 July) and hasn't been seen in a film of note in a while. Even his last Jack Reacher movie, NEVER GO BACK suffered as much from his wooden performance as the story did, even though it was adapted from Lee Child's book.

In all fairness, I have not seen the movie, and don't plan on it until it is released on DVD. That's how excited I am about it. Universal executives said that THE MUMMY's poor box office performance won't disuade them from releasing other films in the Dark Universe series. Next up is BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN in February 2019. It's a long wait, but it will hopefully give Universal enough time to get this one right.

Below is an article from the new 'zine, HORRORVILLE, describing the development of THE MUMMY.