We still have more than a year to wait until entries in Universal's Marvel-inspired attempt to create a cinematic universe with reboots of their classic monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon) start hitting theatres, but development of this universe is in full swing.
Entrusted by Universal to oversee the universe building are screenwriters/producers Chris Morgan and Alex Kurtzman, and after a panel at the recent Television Critics Association Press Tour Kurtzman told press in attendance that the project is going well, with scripts getting turned in and design work being done.
Last year, Universal chairman Donna Langley was quoted as saying that the idea behind the new monster movies was to
take it out of the horror genre, put it more in the action-adventure genre and make it present day
It would be a sorry state of affairs if the iconic monsters were brought back as action stars, but Kurtzman assured that his higher-up's words were taken the wrong way,
I promise you there will be horror in these movies. It is our life goal to make a horror movie. The tricky part is actually how you combine horror with either adventure or suspense or action and be true to all the genres together. In some way, Mummy, dating all the way back to the Karloff movie, was the first to do that. It was the first to combine horror with — I wouldn’t say action, but certainly a lot of suspense. So it’s more about how you blend the different elements and stay true to each one, but there will definitely be horror in the monster movies… We will hopefully serve it up good and plenty.
Kurtzman himself will be directing the reboot of THE MUMMY, which will be the first full-fledged installment in the monsterverse when it hits theatres on March 24, 2017, although reshoots turned last year's DRACULA UNTOLD into a sort of prologue to the endeavor.
I'm a bit wary of this whole idea. While I'd love to see the Universal monsters back on the big screen in movies that I enjoy, that hasn't been the case with any of their recent films. I'm not a fan of the Brendan Fraser MUMMY movies, the Benicio del Toro WOLF MAN, or DRACULA UNTOLD, so I don't have high hopes that I'll like what this universe has in store for us. Keeping my fingers crossed…
DRACULA UNTOLD's Sarah Gadon
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