With the Tom Cruise-starring The Mummy due soon, Universal today went all out with the monster news, branding its new shared movie series Dark Universe, confirming Bill Condon as the director of a new version of The Bride Of Frankenstein and releasing a group shot of the cast of most of the films announced to date, including Cruise, Russell Crowe (Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde), Sofia Boutella (Ahmanet, The Mummy), Javier Bardem (Frankenstein's Monster) and Johnny Depp (the Invisible Man).
With the new umbrella title, the film schedule is starting to firm up, though the announcement includes the fact that Condon's contribution won't arrive until 14 February 2019. Happy Valentine's Terror! It also appears that Bardem's creature will likely get his first appearence in Bride opposite an actress whose casting will be announced soon.
"I"’m very excited to bring a new Bride of Frankenstein to life on screen, particularly since James Whale’s original creation is still so potent," Condon says. "The Bride of Frankenstein remains the most iconic female monster in film history, and that’s a testament to Whale’s masterpiece-which endures as one of the greatest movies ever made."
The Dark Universe films will slot together via Jekyll's organisation, Prodigium, as introduced in The Mummy and responsible for tracking, studying and potential destroying troublemaking monsters. Below is the video that accompanied the announcement, including a look back at the legacy of the monsters, a new CG title treatment from the Weta team and a musical sting courtesy of Danny Elfman. The Mummy, the first film to carry the new title, arrives on 9 June.