Making a Better Dark Universe - Universal Monsters Podcast #21

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The Dark Universe was an attempt to start a combined setting of monster films produced by Universal Pictures, featuring reimagined takes of the classic Universal Horror characters in an apparent attempt to follow the success of other studios' successful franchises.

Originally intended to launch with 2014's Dracula Untold, development of a shared monster universe was postponed when that film underperformed. Universal went back to the table, formed a brain trust to plot a course for a future series that was meant to begin with 2017's The Mummy reboot, starring Tom Cruise as Nick Morton, Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll, and Sofia Boutella as the titular mummy. The studio created a "Dark Universe" logo that would pair with the iconic Universal globe, accompanied with a leitmotif from prolific composer Danny Elfman titled "Monsters Legacy", and announced a second installment, a remake of Bride of Frankenstein to be directed by Bill Condon and star Javier Bardem as Frankenstein's monster. Johnny Depp was also cast as The Invisible Man.

And then The Mummy came out, underperformed at the box office, and was panned by critics. After over a year of silence about the project, Universal announced in January 2019 that the Dark Universe was completely scrapped in favor of letting directors work on smaller, individual projects starring the classic Universal horror characters. This led to a theoretical third iteration of the Dark Universe in all but name, starting in 2020 with a smaller-budget reboot of The Invisible Man co-produced by Blumhouse, written and directed by Leigh Whannell (Saw, Upgrade), and made without the involvement of Johnny Depp. That film's success led to the repurposing of an earlier Dark Universe concept as a comedy in 2023's Renfield.

In 2024, it was announced that the Dark Universe branding would be resurrected for a horror-themed section of Universal Studios' Epic Universe expansion to their Orlando resort.

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