Ah Dark Universe, we hardly knew ye. Universal Pictures spent years developing a series of reboots of their classic monsters under the direction ofStar TrekandTransformerswriter/producerAlex KurtzmanandFast & Furiouswriter/producerChris Morgan. The duo oversaw a writers room that developed scripts for movies based onVan Helsing,Wolfman,Bride of Frankenstein,The Invisible Man, and others, and Kurtzman was personally tending toThe Mummy, which he would direct as the first Dark Universe movie.
When it came time to releaseThe Mummy, Universal even dropped an official fanfare logo for Dark Universe and a “cast” photo featuringJohnny Depp’s Invisible Man andJavier Bardem’s Frankenstein’s monster, both of whom had merely been announced for projects that hadn’t even happened yet. It was a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, and it all kinda came crashing down.
DespiteTom Cruise’s best efforts,The Mummysuffered poor reviews and incredibly dismal domestic box office. Indeed, the film grossed only $80 million domestically, although it did perform far better overseas to bring its worldwide total to $409.2 million. Still, that kind of domestic performance is tough to swallow, especially for a film that was meant to serve as the foundation for an interconnected universe of monster movies.The Mummywas to be Universal’sIron Man, and yet reaction to the film was anything but enthusiastic.
Reports swirled as to what Universal was doing next, and in November 2017 reports surfaced that Kurtzman and Morganwere outand a brand new office building renovated specifically to house Dark Universe was empty. Indeed, in a new interview withTHRtoutingStar Trek: DiscoverySeason 2, Kurtzman confirms he’s no longer involved with the Dark Universe and goes so far as to say he was unhappy with whatThe Mummybecame:
“The Mummywasn’t what I wanted it to be. I’m no longer involved in that and have no idea what’s going on with it. I look back on it now [and] what felt painful at the time ended up being an incredible blessing for me. I learned that I need to follow my own instincts, and when I can’t fully do that, I don’t think I can succeed. Those films are beautiful because the monsters are broken characters, and we see ourselves in them. I hope those are the movies that they make; I want to see them.”
It is kind of infuriating that as every studio in town is trying to mimic the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal is just sitting on some of the most iconic characters in cinema history.The Mummytried to turn the titular monster into a superhero origin story rather than leaning into the tragic horror aspect of the character. Indeed, at heart these Universal monsters stories are tragedies. One imagines if Universal could lean in that direction and hire some talented yet singular filmmakers to put their own stamps on the material, we could get something truly great. EvenBride of Frankensteinseemed to be on the right track withBill Condondirecting a feminist twist on the story withAngelina Joliein the lead role, but afterThe Mummy’s disappointment that film was scrapped.
Kurtzman, meanwhile, has returned to TV and seems fairly happy to be back. He cut his teeth on shows likeAliasandXena: Warrior Princessand he’s now serving as showrunner onStar Trek: Discoveryfollowing theousting of Season 1’s showrunners, as well as overseeing a whole host of newTrekshows on CBS All Access. The filmmaker doesn’t elaborate on who he blames forThe Mummynot being what he “wanted it to be,” but he certainly did his part to promote the film as-is during its marketing campaign.
Perhaps someday soon Universal will enlist exciting horror filmmakers likeAri AsterorJennifer KentorJordan Peeleto come play in the monsters sandbox. For now, the Dark Universe rests.
