Universal Pictures has been talking up its interconnected universe of monster movies for a few years now. With the first entry, The Mummy, arriving on June 9th, the studio has today given the universe a name and announced the next film in the planned franchise.
The movies will collectively be known as the Dark Universe, and The Bride of Frankenstein is set to follow The Mummy on February 14th, 2019. That film will star Javier Badem as Frankenstein’s creation, though no casting has been confirmed for the titular monster. Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast, Dreamgirls) will direct from a script by David Koepp (Spider-Man, Mission: Impossible). It looks set to be more of a gothic romance as opposed to the blockbuster action film that is The Mummy.
In addition to Badem, Dark Universe will include The Mummy stars Tom Cruise as Nick Morton; Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde; and Sofia Boutella as the mummy herself, Ahmanet. Crowe’s Jekyll/Hyde will be the binding agent between all the movies, which will include a Johnny Depp-starring The Invisible Man, and, presumably, The Wolfman and Dracula. An image of all the main stars cast so far (above) was also revealed today.
Behind the scenes, Koepp is working with The Mummy director Alex Kurtzman and writer Christopher McQuarrie, plus writer Chris Morgan (The Fate of the Furious), as Universal’s Dark Universe braintrust. The studio isn’t rushing any of the other films into production, however, choosing instead to give the creative teams to ample time with each project. “The enterprise masterfully developed by Chris and Alex will allow each subsequent chapter the right time to find the perfect cast, filmmakers, and vision to fulfill it,” said Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley in a statement. “As we launch Dark Universe with Danny’s provocative theme before The Mummy and collaborate with a brilliant filmmaker like Bill to weave the story of a very modern woman in a very classic tale, we feel confident we’re off to a tremendous start.”
The “modern woman in a very classic tale” is a bit of a tease for Bride of Frankenstein while the “Danny” Langley refers to is in fact composer Danny Elfman. Elfman wrote the main Dark Universe theme, which was revealed in a sizzle reel featuring clips from the classic Universal monster films and the unveiling of the Dark Universe logo. Check it out below.
