Universal Pictures’ cinematic universe for its stable of classic movie monsters finally has an official name and the studio revealed that and more details during a fairly comprehensive announcement regarding its newly titled Dark Universe.
Along with revealing a brief teaser for its Dark Universe — which will officially kick off with the June release of The Mummy — Universal shared some additional details about the next projects on the schedule and the logo that will be used as the unifying banner for the films.
The teaser that accompanied the announcement features a musical theme composed by four-time Academy Award nominee Danny Elfman and depicts a variation of the classic Universal Pictures logo (an image of the Earth turning to reveal the studio’s banner) with a distinctly darker tone and the Dark Universe branding. The new logo can be seen after a montage of scenes from the studio’s classic monster movies over the years.
The architects of the studio’s new cinematic universe are The Mummy director and producer Alex Kurtzman, The Fate of the Furious screenwriter (and fellow producer on The Mummy) Chris Morgan, Academy Award winner Christopher McQuarrie (screenwriter for the Mission: Impossible series and The Usual Suspects), and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds, Jurassic Park).
Following the release of The Mummy, Universal confirmed that Academy Award winner Bill Condon (screenwriter of Gods and Monsters and director of this year’s live-action Beauty and the Beast) will helm a remake of Bride of Frankenstein. The film will be based on a script from Koepp and hit theaters February 14, 2019.
“I’m very excited to bring a new Bride of Frankenstein to life on screen, particularly since James Whale’s original creation is still so potent,” Condon said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The Bride of Frankenstein remains the most iconic female monster in film history, and that’s a testament to [James] Whale’s masterpiece — which endures as one of the greatest movies ever made.”
There is no word yet on who will play the title role in Bride of Frankenstein.
Also included in the studio’s announcement is confirmation that Johnny Depp will play the title role in the upcoming remake of The Invisible Man and Javier Bardem will play Frankenstein’s monster in a future film. Tom Cruise’s character in The Mummy, Nick Morton, will also return for future films along with Russell Crowe’s Dr. Henry Jekyll and Sofia Boutella’s character from The Mummy. A photo featuring all five actors together was released by the studio.
The studio also unveiled a new website for Prodigium, the fictional organization that will be introduced in The Mummy and unites the Dark Universe films. The secret organization is tasked with investigating and — if necessary — destroying dangerous evil entities in the world and is led by Crowe’s enigmatic Dr. Jekyll. The website for the organization can be found at www.welcometoprodigium.com.
