There’s an interesting article over at Variety explaining the game plan for Universal’s “Classic Monsters” reboots. As you’re well aware, the studio is in the process of bringing all of their famous villains back to the big screen – Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, etc. – with Chris Morgan (FAST & FURIOUS) and Alex Kurtzman (TRANSFORMERS, STAR TREK) heading up the cause. And, naturally, the idea is to put them all in one of those shared universes that are so popular, so that one day we’ll see Drac and Mummy hanging out together (hopefully that’s something you actually want to see).
As Universal’s Donna Langley – who at one point made us worry that these movies would live in the action genre – puts it:
The characters will interact with each other across movies. We’re incubating it at the moment, and we’re taking the time to get it right.”
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Morgan explains that the monsters will be relatable:
Heroes tend to be perfect, but most people in an audience aren’t ever going to know what it’s like to be the smartest, strongest or fastest person alive… But there’s a darkness inside everybody. And everyone wants to be able to turn a curse into empowerment. The monsters have been in the shadows, and now it’s time to bring them out into the light.”
It should also be known that the films will be “contemporary” while still mixing in elements from the classic films (Frankenstein’s monster will have bolts in his neck). Says Morgan:
This is not a heightened world. We’re exploring issues of family identity and questions of, ‘Where do I belong in the world?’ ”
Should you poo-poo those words, remember than the original Universal films very much dealt with those very themes. Whether or not Morgan, Kurtzman and the rest of the team will be able to successfully bring these memorable creatures up-to-date in a way satisfying for today’s audiences remains to be seen.
