Reel Facts & Opinions: The Dark Universe Going Dark?

Five months ago, Universal Studios, the studio responsible for originally bringing horror to the silver screens and pop culture in 1930’s with DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, and THE WOLFMAN, announced a new series of films based on those very classic characters, called the Dark Universe. The announcement came with a fair amount of fanfare; ranging from a teaser-trailer to a casting photo which included veteran Oscar-winning actors;  including Javier Bardem, Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, and Tom Cruise. The new series would be taking a page out of the Marvel playbook; a connected series of films with characters crossing over and building a single franchise out of many.

That long-range plan, if there actually was one, seems to be in serious trouble after today’s news that writer-producers Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, the captains and architects of the Dark Universe¸ would be departing the franchise. The move is the latest in the demise of the Dark Universe, beginning with their first release this year, THE MUMMY, which bombed financially and was blasted by fans critics, and the delay of production on THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. So after one movie and less than half a year, the Dark Universe is suddenly a ship without a captain, rudder, or even a sail.

How did it come to this? How did Universal, one of the oldest studios in Hollywood, so badly bungle their collection of the most famed and classic characters of all time? A lack of patience and understanding of their properties are the biggest mistakes they’ve made, and THE MUMMY displayed both of those blunders. The film didn’t play out as its own story, and instead came across as a feature-length trailer for five other movies. It was also over-loaded with CGI spectacle, and was a far cry from the roots of horror. And a horror movie that doesn’t scare is always bound to fail with fans, critics, or even the most casual person in the theatre.

So what now? The Dark Universe hasn’t been announced as officially scrapped. Not yet anyway. To do so would be to admit defeat and risk looking ridiculous after the big rollout earlier this year. Universal is most certainly scrambling behind the scenes, but if they can hire the right writers and actually make a goddamn movie that’s scary and tells its own story, the ship can always be righted. After all, it was only a few years ago before famed comic-characters The Hulk and Spider-man were laughing stocks of the industry after a near-decade of lousy movies, and today they are at a peak of popularity thanks to some solid films. Universal deserves to fall on their face after their impatience in trying to build a franchise instead of concentrating on one film at a time (everyone wants to go to the party, but no one wants to cook), but even if they deserve failure, that’s not something fans want to see. Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Wolfman are some of the most iconic characters in history, and to see them return to silver-screen glory wouldn't be a trick...but a treat.