The boss of Universal concedes mistakes were made with the Dark Universe project.
You may recall a few years back, around the time of the release of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, that Universal launched its ill-fated Dark Universe. This was to be a cinematic universe bringing together assorted Universal monster characters, and the studio duly launched a fancy logo and released shots of the stars hired before the first film had been released.
Remember this?
Then the first film was released. The Mummy did not go down well. Other Dark Universe projects quickly stalled. The project was over not long after it began.
Universal has instead pressed ahead with films based on its classic monsters, but as standalones, starting in earnest with next week’s The Invisible Man. And studio boss Donna Langley has been open about the mistake Universal made.
“We had an attempt at interlocking our monsters and it was a failed attempt”, Langley told The Hollywood Reporter. “What we realised is that these characters are indelible for a reason, but there’s no urgency behind them and certainly the world was not asking for a shared universe of classic monsters. But we have gone back and created an approach that’s filmmaker-first, any budget range”.
Now on the roster as Dexter Fletcher’s Renfield, a new Bride Of Frankenstein, and a monster movie from director Paul Feig. Elizabeth Banks has been linked with The Invisible Woman, too.
No release date on any of those projects. And the full interview with Langley can be found here.
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