Today, Universal Pictures announced that their rebooted series of classic monster movies will be known as the Dark Universe.
Via a press release on their new Dark Universe website, we also got a few new bits of information pertaining to the budding, interconnected movie series as well. Director Bill Condon, fresh off the success of his hit remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, has been chosen to helm Bride of Frankenstein, which is currently slated for release on February 14th, 2019 and will be the second film within this series of interconnected movies, following next month’s release of The Mummy. Though we don’t yet know who will be playing the titular role, it appears as though an actress has been cast, for the press release says the actress will “be announced soon.”
Speaking about being chosen to helm the film, Condon had this to say:
“I’m very excited to bring a new Bride of Frankenstein to life on the big screen, particularly since James Whale’s original version is still so potent. The Bride of Frankenstein remains the most iconic female monster in film history, and that’s a testament to Whale’s masterpiece – which endures as one of the greatest movies ever made.”
In addition to the news that Bill Condon will be directing Bride of Frankenstein, Universal’s press release also confirmed that Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem will be joining the Dark Universe franchise as the Invisible Man and Frankenstein’s Monster respectively. They, and the soon-to-be-announced actress taking on the role of Bardem’s monster bride, will be joining the ranks of this universe which already has a high caliber cast that will be introduced to audiences in next month’s The Mummy, including Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, and Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Universal’s press release also gave us more of an idea about what to expect from these upcoming monster movies with this synopsis of the Dark Universe overall:
“At its organizing principle, Dark Universe films are connected by a mysterious multi-national organization known as Prodigium. Led by the enigmatic and brilliant Dr. Henry Jekyll, Prodigium’s mission is to track, study and – when necessary – destroy evil embodied in the form of monsters in our world. Working outside the aegis of any government, and with practices concealed by millennia of secrecy, Prodigium protects the public from knowledge of the evil that exists just beyond the thin membrane of civilized society…and will go to any length to contain it.
Welcome to the new world of gods and monsters. Welcome to the Dark Universe.”
For more on the upcoming Dark Universe, you can read the press release in full here, alongside of which you can find the universe’s new logo (seen at the top of this article), a picture of the universe’s cast so far (seen above), and a preview video (attached below) showcasing the legacy of all of the classic monsters that have frightened audiences for decades and will soon be returning to the silver screen.
After digesting all of this news, we can be certain of one thing: Universal Pictures must have immense confidence in their reboot of The Mummy to release all of this information with only a little over two weeks left to go before that movie hits theaters.
What do you think of all of this news? Are you excited for the Dark Universe? Who else would you like to see cast in future films, and how long do you think it will be before the most iconic monster of all – Count Dracula – will make his presence felt within these movies? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
In the meantime, be sure to check out The Mummy in theaters on July 9th, 2017, and Bride of Frankenstein when it hits theaters on February 14th, 2019.
