Dark Universe & Universal Monster Movies That Deserve Reboots

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Dark Universe & Universal Monster Movies That Deserve Reboots

Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man proved how Universal's classic monsters can be scary again, but there are others in the studio's catalogue that should be considered for potential updates as well, such as Dracula, The Wolf Man, Bride of Frankenstein, and Phantom of the Opera.

Universal has tried to resurrect its classic monster before, first with Dracula Untold in 2014 that told an origin story of Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans). This eventually got disconnected for their larger plans for the Universe, and stopped being a part of it entirely. From there, Universal green-lit The Mummy, which starred Tom Cruise and released in 2017. Along with The Mummy, they had several other projects that would revolve around horror icons like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein and connected similarly to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As these franchises have crossed over the past, and with the success of these large, interconnected universes being proven to work in some capacities, Universal attempted to bring their monsters back in a big way, focusing more on action and adventure rather than horror.

As this didn't work, and The Mummy was a major box office flop, Universal cancelled their plans for a continuing universe and discussed opportunities for story-based, standalone films instead. These would restore the properties to their roots in horror, and began with Leigh Whannell's update to The Invisible Man, which explored domestic violence against women and made the titular character into a modern monster with roots in technology over invisibility potions. There are other movies planned in this new Dark Universe after The Invisible Man, as Whannell proved that a back to basics approach is sometimes best, especially with genres like horror, which is rooted in the simplicity of fear.

Which Universal Monsters Deserve A Reboot Movie?


Dracula has been done to death, but in the right hands, could see a major resurgence that would potentially make vampires scary again. Leigh Whannell recently posed some ideas about a hypothetical reboot, if he was tapped to tackle another Universal monster property. While this has been done in 2020 already with Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss' three-part series for Netflix and BBC, it was lackluster and riddled with plot holes, leaving audiences bewildered, though production values and acting - along with some of the changes to Stoker's novel - were seen as welcome.

Similarly to this, The Wolf Man has conjured many werewolf stories and tropes since 1941, and even got a reboot in 2010. However, the story's core hasn't been tackled in unique, exciting ways for years, and instead lean on boring and predictable tropes. Ginger Snaps took an updated look at werewolves by making the transformation into a metaphor for female sexuality. Since social horror seems to be making quite a splash in Hollywood, perhaps this could be the route to go instead of the old traditions. Bride of Frankenstein is currently in the works with Bill Condon directing and a script from David Koepp. Though she is certainly a horror icon, much of her story is tethered to Frankenstein's monster and, traditionally, her identity has always revolved around him. As The Invisible Man put women's issues at the forefront, this could be a prime opportunity to explore those discussions even further.

Most people are familiar with Phantom of the Opera due to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and the concept was done with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in 2004. However, much like vampires are often filtered through a romanticized lens, the Phantom is done in the same way. Sticking more closely to the character's horror roots or even exploring his origins might be a way to revitalize a property without the musical connection, as was done with the original silent film that starred Lon Cheney as the Phantom in 1925.