In one of the most ill-advised attempts to replicate the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal launched an ambitious plan in 2017 to build a new Dark Universe of gods and monsters, a world that would feature cross-overs between Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula, and other classic characters, with Russell Crowe's Dr. Jekyll serving as the Nick Fury of this new world. Despite cautionary tales from Sony's attempts at cinematic universes for Ghostbusters and Spider-Man and even less consequential franchise-starting disasters, Universal pushed forward with the plan- only to fail miserably with the release of Alex Kurtzman's The Mummy. Suddenly, a mega-series conceivably led by Tom Cruise, Javier Bardem, and Johnny Depp was left in limbo. Now, it appears that Universal is rebooting their classic monsters- again- with the plan that many fans wanted the first time around...
According to Variety's Justin Kroll, the control of Universal's original franchise has been passed on to Jason Blum, the super-producer at Blumhouse responsible for some of the biggest horror hits of the last several years. The first project underway at Blumhouse is The Invisible Man, which will be written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the frequent James Wan collaborator who made his directorial debut with last June's Upgrade. Johnny Depp, who was originally slated to star in the titular role, will not be taking on this part in the new Monster-Verse (though Kroll notes he could appear elsewhere- which I personally find unlikely). This new direction for the monsters will reportedly be more "filmmaker-driven," with Universal meeting with multiple directors for several projects; per Variety, this means The Invisible Man might not even be the next monster movie to go into production. And in a twist that's certain to please horror fans, there will be no restrictions on budget, rating, or tone.
Universal's president of production Peter Cramer had this to say about the new course for the monsters:
"Throughout cinematic history, Universal's classic monsters have been reinvented through the prism of each new filmmaker who brought these characters to life. We are excited to take a more individualized approach for their return to the screen, shepherded by creators who have stories they are passionate to tell with them."
Okay, I love how this statement is basically saying, "We took interesting characters and attempted to make soulless corporate product, but when it didn't work, we decided to make a smart decision instead."
Anyways, hindsight is 20/20, and I have to commend Universal and Blumhouse- this is an enormously exciting decision. The monster movies are almost guaranteed to receive more respect and attention from horror fans and critics, starting with Whannell's hotly-anticipated follow-up to bloody sci-fi feature Upgrade. My interest in these movies shot way up with this announcement alone, and I can't wait to see how they round out the rest of the upcoming slate with more strong filmmaking voices. Look for more information on the latest iteration of the Universal monsters very soon.
Image: Universal/IMDb
According to Variety's Justin Kroll, the control of Universal's original franchise has been passed on to Jason Blum, the super-producer at Blumhouse responsible for some of the biggest horror hits of the last several years. The first project underway at Blumhouse is The Invisible Man, which will be written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the frequent James Wan collaborator who made his directorial debut with last June's Upgrade. Johnny Depp, who was originally slated to star in the titular role, will not be taking on this part in the new Monster-Verse (though Kroll notes he could appear elsewhere- which I personally find unlikely). This new direction for the monsters will reportedly be more "filmmaker-driven," with Universal meeting with multiple directors for several projects; per Variety, this means The Invisible Man might not even be the next monster movie to go into production. And in a twist that's certain to please horror fans, there will be no restrictions on budget, rating, or tone.
Universal's president of production Peter Cramer had this to say about the new course for the monsters:
"Throughout cinematic history, Universal's classic monsters have been reinvented through the prism of each new filmmaker who brought these characters to life. We are excited to take a more individualized approach for their return to the screen, shepherded by creators who have stories they are passionate to tell with them."
Okay, I love how this statement is basically saying, "We took interesting characters and attempted to make soulless corporate product, but when it didn't work, we decided to make a smart decision instead."
Anyways, hindsight is 20/20, and I have to commend Universal and Blumhouse- this is an enormously exciting decision. The monster movies are almost guaranteed to receive more respect and attention from horror fans and critics, starting with Whannell's hotly-anticipated follow-up to bloody sci-fi feature Upgrade. My interest in these movies shot way up with this announcement alone, and I can't wait to see how they round out the rest of the upcoming slate with more strong filmmaking voices. Look for more information on the latest iteration of the Universal monsters very soon.
Image: Universal/IMDb
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