Phantom of the Opera & Hunchback of Notre Dame will join the Dark Universe

June 6th 2017, 10:27am

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

THE MUMMY is three days away from kicking off the Dark Universe over at Universal, and the studio already has big plans for where to go after Tom Cruise fights Sofia Boutella’s vengeful mummy. We will be seeing tons of classic movie monsters brought back to life to haunt the living, and according to MUMMY director Alex Kurtzman two more scary beings have been added to the lineup.

While talking with Fandom about the upcoming shared monster movie universe, Kurtzman unveiled that two of the world’s most famous horror characters will be returning to the big screen to terrify moviegoers – The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

“We know we’re going to do Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Invisible Man.

The two will join the other monsters Kurtzman mentioned, with actors Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp being cast as Frankenstein and Invisible Man respectively, and Russell Crowe playing Dr. Jekyll (and his Mr. Hyde alter ego) in THE MUMMY. Though no one has been cast as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, writer Will Beall (AQUAMAN) has been hired to write the movie, while reports are also going around that Universal is still looking at Dwayne Johnson to play Wolfman, but that has yet to be confirmed.

As for casting the other roles, Kurtzman reaffirmed they want Angelina Jolie for BRIDE, while also dropping names like Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron to be a part of this big, dark movie world. He didn’t give specifics as to who he would want to play who, but if they signed on they would add to the already tremendous pedigree of actors involved in the universe.

I have no idea if Universal will be able to pull this whole plan off. Monsters have come together to fight and share the screen in the past, but doing it in some sort of Marvel fashion seems almost too ambitious. But that ambition is what’s keeping me on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out, whether it’s a startling success or all goes down in flames like an old-timey windmill. Fassbender could make a great Phantom if he ever signed on. As for Theron, clearly she would make for the perfect Hunchback. Clearly.

Catch the start of it all with THE MUMMY on June 9.