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Universal creates "Dark Universe", with "The Mummy" and "Bride of Frankenstein."

Metalmarc

Member
*Sighs*

First i was hoping Tom Cruise would not be in any more than one, if he turns out to be Van Hellsing, i am going to be so dissapointed.

Second of all and probably more important

Universal Monsters was Cinematic Universe long before the others, so cut it out.
 

Busty

Banned
This casting makes this nascent cineverse feel like WCW in it's later years when every other pay-per-view was headlined by Hogan and Flair.

Paying top dollar to bring in Depp and, bafflingly, Bardem makes zero sense to me. When was the last time Depp opened a film himself and when was the last time Bardem opened a film at all?!

I'm sure Universal had no choice but to go all in on this even with the release of The Mummy's tracking numbers.

Let's see what happens when The Mummy finishes under $100m at the US box office.

Also, I wonder if Warners have anything to say about Dark Universe being taken by another studio? Hmmm.
 

fhqwhgads

Member
Considering how the previous classic movie monster films performed i'm not optimistic. Seems like they're using the strategy of tying them to already existing series in order to boost attention.

Even with that it's not the worst cinematic universe there is, or going to be. The supposed Hanna Barbera or the possible Roald Dahl universes on the plate are easily the bigger money sinks. Hollywood loooves to throw shitty ideas 150 mil for some reason.
 

Protome

Member
This casting seems way too good for what these properties have been in film so far
and how The Mummy is shaping up to be...

If they lean into making a cinematic universe of mediocre B-movie action movies though, that could be pretty amazing.
 

KDC720

Member
The Fraser Mummy is excellent imo, but the Cruise one looks pretty by the books if the trailers are any indication.

It's an impressive amount of talent they have lined up, although I'm curious to see how they'll reintroduce Dracula if this whole thing ends up panning out.
 
that is such a baller lineup. would have been better in the early 00s though. imagine Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Depp when they were still great. Now they're hit or miss (mostly miss in Depp's case, although occasionally he plays a gangster really fucking well)

also modern day movies...scust

and the director of the most boring movie I've seen all year, beauty and the beast...double scust.

i like the cast they're assembling though quite a bit.

edit: david koepp writing it too?! LMAOOO. holy shit these movies are gonna be terrible. but I'm still there to see how all these actors gel on screen.
 

Busty

Banned
I wonder what DC's Dark Universe is going to be titled now. This announcement will force WB to change its name.

Or take some legal action. I can't imagine WB didn't nab some potential trademarks on that name.

If not I suppose there is always Justice League Dark. But I don't know if WB would to cross the streams on the brands like that.
 
Dark Universe? Just call it Universal Monsters.

And they basically just confirmed The Mummy is not dying
and Cruise might be Van Helsing
.
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
He needs money. I saw some crazy news that he employs a staff of 150 people for his house.

I love how Depp is apparently only doing blockbusters because he's broke but Tom Cruise just... does it for fun?

These are the movies Depp likes doing and has done... forever?
 
Or take some legal action. I can't imagine WB didn't nab some potential trademarks on that name.

If not I suppose there is always Justice League Dark. But I don't know if WB would to cross the streams on the brands like that.

I could see J.L.D.: subtitle. But both Justice League Dark and Dark Universe weren't great titles for the project.
 
Ha, they still believe The Mummy won't bomb. That's going to be a rude awakening when that happens.

And before you say: "There are dozens of us that care about it! Dozens!", you might want to remember that's literally ever complete bomb ever. Hell, there's a bunch of people who apparently like King Arthur, which is bombing hard right now.


Honestly, can anyone give me a successful 'monsters' movie from a recent decade that isn't Bram Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman? Because I'm trying to think of one and I can't.
 
Ha, they still believe The Mummy won't bomb. That's going to be a rude awakening when that happens.

And before you say: "There are dozens of us that care about it! Dozens!", you might want to remember that's literally ever complete bomb ever. Hell, there's a bunch of people who apparently like King Arthur, which is bombing hard right now.


Honestly, can anyone give me a successful 'monsters' movie from a recent decade that isn't Bram Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman? Because I'm trying to think of one and I can't.

I'm trying to read this post but it's way too pretentious. Especially the second paragraph.

Making fun of people for using a funny meme meant to discharge tension around a subjective piece of media? You edgelord, you.
 
A cinematic universe that leans more towards horror or just a more "dark" feel could be pretty neat imo. I'd like to see a modern Van Helsing/Dracula flick that isn't afraid to get a little grimy.
 
I read the title as "Dank Universe" and thought they were gonna make a cinematic universe full of monsters and dank memes. That sounds better.

and yeah its hard to see how The Mummy doesn't bomb, it just doesn't have that "I gotta see this in theaters!" vibe you need nowadays. Good enough to see at home, not good enough to see at theaters... its a fine line, but its a killer line.
 

Maddocks

Member
I hope the Mummy does well because the premise sounds pretty cool. Who really doubts the cruise missile though. Mummy just seems like an extension of Mission Impossible and might be a good thing.
 
Where is Hugh Jackman?

will-smith-i-robot.gif


Too soon. But it is the right question.
 
What if The Mummy severely underperforms? Are they going to turn over the couch cushions like they did with the Dracula movie? I guess it doesn't really matter, they're going to make these movies anyway. Just gotta hope there is interest in the buildup.

So now we have

MCU
DCU
Fox-verse (X-MEN, Deadpool, New Mutants)
Kaijuverse
Dark Universe
Sony SpiderVerse
Hasbro Toyverse

Am I forgetting something?
Potterverse.
 
While I like the idea, as the original Universal monsters were the original Cinematic universe, IDK. Cannot say I'm optimistic about this one. Name certainly does not help for starters. Should have just called it the Universal Monsters.
 

border

Member
I don't get why people say "But this was the original cinematic universe!" Yeah, but they only started the monster battles after any and all creativity was gone, and none of those team-up crossover movies are really fondly remembered or regarded. There wasn't any overarching continuity as there is in a proper Cinematic Universe.....the events of each film were mostly self contained. The originals were hardly a model for how to run or create an ongoing series of interconnected films.
 
A cinematic universe that leans more towards horror or just a more "dark" feel could be pretty neat imo. I'd like to see a modern Van Helsing/Dracula flick that isn't afraid to get a little grimy.
Same here, I'm itching for a good Dracula movie. Perhaps they're waiting for the public to fully get the taste of the Twilight series out of their mouths.
 
I don't get why people say "But this was the original cinematic universe!" Yeah, but they only started the monster battles after any and all creativity was gone, and none of those team-up crossover movies are really fondly remembered or regarded. There wasn't any overarching continuity as there is in a proper Cinematic Universe.....the events of each film were mostly self contained. The originals were hardly a model for how to run or create an ongoing series of interconnected films.

But they were the original CU.

Quality be damned.
 
They should snatch the rights to Castlevania while it's cheap and make a modern day version as part of this universe.

Simon Belmont is now a gruff Iraqi soldier who gets stranded in an Eastern European country and has to rescue a local girl from the clutches of the evil General Dracula
 
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