Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
With the release of The Mummy on Friday, Universal will officially kick off their “Dark Universe” franchise, a shared world of the iconic monsters that arguably made the studio famous almost 100 years ago. This superhero-style series will mark Universal’s first large endeavor of this nature, and while the likelihood of its success is questionable, it certainly has some interesting history to it – Universal’s monsters are essentially a cornerstone of their legacy. They’ve already announced a TON of reboots; Mummy director Alex Kurtzman recently told Fandom that they have plans to make a handy helping of these monster movies, and there’s already a slew of big names attached to the projects. Johnny Depp will take on The Invisible Man, Russell Crowe is starring as Dr. Jekyll, and Javier Bardem will play Frankenstein’s Monster. The rest of the casting is currently in negotiation, but it seems to be a buzzed-about opportunity amongst A-listers.
Before you dive into Tom Cruise‘s Mummy, it might be worth taking the time to jump back and see what preceded this imagining of the tale, as well as the origins of the rest of the planned additions to the extended universe. So far, the following flicks have been confirmed as being in development, and Kurtzman says we should start expecting Dark Universe movies once a year:
Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, Van Helsing, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, and Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
These are the upcoming films’ original counterparts and what you might need to know for the future – or simply a key to binging some of the best creature features ever made!
The Mummy
Before Brendan Fraser or Tom Cruise took hold of this mummified monster, the Karl Freund-directed original classic laid the foundation for these flicks back in 1932. Starring Boris Karloff and Arthur Byron, the film follows a team of British archaeologists who discover the remains of ancient Egyptian Prince Imhotep and must deal with the consequences when when of the archaeologists recites a cursed scroll aloud and Imhotep is brought back to life. The flick had no official sequels and instead spawned several “semi-remakes”, which started with the The Mummy’s Hand and was followed by The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost, and The Mummy’s Curse.
Where to Stream The Mummy (1932)
Where to Stream The Mummy’s Hand
Where to Stream The Mummy’s Tomb
Where to Stream The Mummy’s Ghost
Where to Stream The Mummy’s Curse
Much later (in 1999, to be exact), Universal rebooted The Mummy with a slightly different storyline (they had to throw in a little more sexy stuff) and a whole new set of thrills. Starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, the 1999 Mummy killed at the box office and kicked off an entire series (none of which were as solid as the first) and a Scorpion King spin-off franchise.
Where to Stream The Mummy (1999)
Where to Stream The Mummy Returns
Where to Stream The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Where to Stream The Scorpion King
Where to Stream The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
Where to Stream The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption
Where to Stream The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power
This weekend we’ll see Tom Cruise lead the troops in a whole new Mummy trilogy, with a much bigger departure in story from the original source material. The awakened mummy is now a terrifying ancient princess, and she’s taking on London in search of revenge. The flick will introduce Crowe’s Dr. Henry Jekyll and presumably set him up for his own series of films within the franchise. The Mummy hits theaters June 9, 2017.
Frankenstein & Bride of Frankenstein
Mary Shelley’s infamous novel acted as the basis for this wildly successful 1931 film, and Frankenstein’s monster soon skyrocketed to the status of a genre icon. There’s nothing else to call it but a classic; Boris Karloff’s sluggish monster movements remain a cornerstone of horror culture to this day. “It’s…. alive!”
Where to Stream Frankenstein (1931)
Because Frankenstein was such a monstrous triumph, it’s no surprise that a slew of sequels followed. 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein saw the famous doctor’s creation receive a mate, and once again deliver at the box office. This worthy sequel demonstrated the viability of the Frankenstein franchise, so Universal milked it for all it was worth: Son of Frankenstein in 1939, The Ghost of Frankenstein in 1942, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man in 1943 (a joint sequel for both Frankenstein and The Wolf Man), and House of Frankenstein in 1944. Like several other Universal Horror monsters, he made appearances in many joint flicks with other icons.
Where to Stream The Bride of Frankenstein
Where to Stream Son of Frankenstein
Where to Stream The Ghost of Frankenstein
Where to Stream House of Frankenstein
Javier Bardem has been confirmed to play Frankenstein’s monster in the Dark Universe, but before he gets his own flick, he’ll star in Bride of Frankenstein, currently in pre-production with Beauty and the Beast‘s Bill Condon slated to direct and a February 14, 2019 release date. There’s been no official announcement made yet regarding the Bride’s casting, though Angelina Jolie is said to be in talks for the role.
Dracula & Van Helsing
The iconic 1931 Bela Lugosi film loosely based on Bram Stoker’s famous novel became a genre classic and inspired countless reboots and parodies, none of which ever quite matched Lugosi’s slow, deliberate vampire. Dracula remains something of a legend within the Universal Horror-sphere thanks to this iteration of the famous story, and protagonist Abraham Van Helsing would later spawn his own spin-offs. The original Dracula is connected to three sequels: Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Son of Dracula (1943), and House of Dracula (1945).
Where to Stream Dracula (1931)
Where to Stream Dracula’s Daughter (1936)
Where to Stream Son of Dracula
Where to Stream House of Dracula
After the success Universal saw with this cultural phenomenon, the character (and relatives of the character) appeared frequently in films spanning the studio’s horror collection. While other studios gained access to the character and made their own flicks (most notably Hammer Films’ series starring Christopher Lee as the title character), he remained something of a tentpole figure within Universal’s world, and in 1979, the studio made another Dracula. Frank Langella took on the eponymous character in this imagining, and while the film did not receive the same acclaim as the 1931 original, it was relatively well-received.
Where to Stream Dracula (1979)
In 2004, Hugh Jackman starred as the iconic Van Helsing in Van Helsing, a flick that was critically panned but performed incredibly well at the box office. There’s still a market for all things Dracula, however, so a Van Helsing-centric film has been announced as part of the Dark Universe with Jon Spaihts and Eric Heisserer for screen story and Dan Mazeau set to write the screenplay.
Where to Stream Van Helsing (2004)
In 2014, Universal again revisited the iconic villain with Dracula Untold, but this time, he was portrayed as more of an antihero. It’s now been confirmed that this film was originally intended to kick off the Dark Universe, but after flopping both critically and financially, the studio doubled back. While star Luke Evans has gone on to build up a substantial career, it seems unlikely that they’ll bring him back for any Dracula reboots.
Where to Stream Dracula Untold
There have been no official announcements regarding a new Dracula film’s writers or stars, but it is among the projects in development for the Dark Universe.
The Invisible Man
H.G. Wells’ lauded 1897 sci-fi novel was the inspiration for this 1933 film, a groundbreaking horror flick that sees a scientist who finds a way to become invisible and goes into a murderous frenzy when he can’t reverse the effects. Starring Claude Rains as Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man, the film was a massive success for Universal, and even spawned a 1940 semi-sequel, The Invisible Man Returns.
Where to Stream The Invisible Man (1933)
Where to Stream The Invisible Man Returns
Johnny Depp’s name has been attached to The Invisible Man reboot for over a year now, and the project is currently in development with Now You See Me screenwriter Ed Solomon at work on a script and a tentative 2020 release.
Creature from the Black Lagoon
This revolutionary 1954 black-and-white 3D creature feature follows what happens when a terrifying prehistoric creature called the Gill-Man is captured by explorers and breaks free to kidnap the woman it’s fallen in love with. Unsurprisingly, the film became another in a long list of classics for Universal, and two sequels, Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) followed.
Where to Stream Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Where to Stream Revenge of the Creature
Where to Stream The Creature Walks Among Us
So far, Gangster Squad screenwriter Will Beall is attached to write the screenplay with a story by Jeff Pinkner, and a tentative 2019 release date has been announced.
The Wolf Man
1941 classic The Wolf Man helped shape Hollywood’s image of the werewolf forever, and it’s not hard to see why. While Universal had previously forayed into werewolf flicks with Werewolf of London in 1935, The Wolf Man proved to be a much more successful venture, spawning one real sequel: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (though he would appear in other Universal monster flicks opposite characters like Frankenstein and Dracula).
Where to Stream The Wolf Man (1941)
Where to Stream Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Universal took a swing at breathing new life into this furry fiend in 2010 with The Wolfman, which starred Benicio del Toro in the title role alongside A-listers like Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt. Unfortunately, the film did not perform well critically and received mixed to negative reviews – even Universal’s president didn’t like it.
Where to Stream The Wolfman
(2010)
Within the rebooted universe, an untitled Wolf Man film has been announced with Prisoners screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski and David Callaham (The Expendables). While no official star has been linked, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is reportedly being recruited for the title role.
The Phantom of the Opera
1925 saw this silent film become the second in a long string of horror successes for the studio, and Lon Chaney’s portrayal of the tortured, disfigured composer who longs for a young ingenue remains incredibly iconic. Universal remade the flick in 1943 with a musical spin, and while it doesn’t harbor the same legacy as the first, it’s still an important part of the character’s history.
Where to Stream The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Where to Stream The Phantom of the Opera (1943)
While the character took on a life of its own in the hands of other artists and companies (particularly in a Broadway musical), the original iteration of the famous phantom still carries a lot of intrigue.
It has been announced that Phantom will play a role in the Dark Universe, but there have been no names attached to the project thus far.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
This flick started it all back in 1923, and Lon Chaney’s performance as the disfigured bellringer Quasimodo equally stunned and broke hearts. The film was a massive success for the studio, and as the first in a long line of horror classics, it acts as a foundation for what has come in the years that followed. Universal has not tried to reboot the flick since its release and Disney’s musical adaptation of the famous story has certainly become more closely associated with its legacy, but the source material remains powerful.
Where to Stream The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
Like Phantom, a Dark Universe reboot of The Hunchback has been announced, but there are no names officially linked to the project yet.
