Universal Pictures unveiled its plans for a Dark Universe of films based on classic monster properties last month, and now a few more monstrous names have been added to the list of upcoming projects in the studio’s cinematic universe.
Joining this week’s The Mummy and future films based on The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Dracula, and the story of Frankenstein’s monster will be remakes of The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, according to The Mummy director and producer Alex Kurtzman.
Speaking with entertainment news site Fandom, Kurtzman revealed the trio of projects that will expand the studio’s Dark Universe slate in the coming years. The monster-fueled cinematic universe will officially kick off with this week’s premiere of The Mummy, which will be followed by a remake of Bride of Frankenstein in 2019.
“There are characters within those films that can grow and expand and maybe even spin off,” he explained. “I think that digging into deep mythologies about monsters around the world is fair game for us … and connecting the monsters that we know to some surprising monsters could also be really interesting.”
Uniting all of the Dark Universe movies will be the mysterious organization Prodigium, tasked with investigating, monitoring, and, if necessary, eliminating threats of a monstrous nature around the world. The agency will be introduced in The Mummy along with its leader, Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll, who has some monstrous attributes of his own.
Although there has been little word on the films beyond The Mummy, the current plan is to have Oscar-winning director Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast) helm Bride of Frankenstein from a script penned by David Koepp (War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park). Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem have also been announced in the roles of The Invisible Man and Frankenstein’s monster, respectively, although there is no word on when the two actors’ solo films will hit theaters. Tom Cruise’s mercenary character in The Mummy is also expected to have a recurring role throughout the shared universe.
“I’d love to bring Michael Fassbender in, I’d love to bring Jennifer Lawrence in, I’d love to see Charlize Theron in there, Angelina Jolie…” Kurtzman said when asked about other actors he would like to see lead some of the studio’s creature features.”
The Mummy hits theaters this weekend, with Bride of Frankenstein currently scheduled to premiere February 14, 2019.
