In a new chat with Variety, writers Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) and Chris Morgan (Furious 7) have expanded upon the new world of Universal Monsters that they will be creating, beginning with The Mummy, which films in 2016. Their goal is to bring the classic monsters that we know and love and give them a modern twist while still trying to remain faithful to what the originals presented.
The goal is to create a series of films much like The Avengers, where each monster has their own focused film but they still communicate with each other and live in the same world. Donna Langley, who is the chair of Universal Pictures, explains, ““The characters will interact with each other across movies. We’re incubating it at the moment, and we’re taking the time to get it right.””
“This is not a heightened world. We’re exploring issues of family identity and questions of, ‘Where do I belong in the world?’” Morgan tells the site.
Much like Saw and Paranormal Activity, the plan is to have a new film come out each year. According to the site, the characters that are being focused on after The Mummy will be “…Dracula, Van Helsing, Bride of Frankenstein and the Wolfman.”
Now, for many of us horror fans, the thought of these films being remade/rebooted borders on blasphemous. After all, is nothing sacred anymore?
Kurtzman understands those fears and often asks himself, “What are the rules? What can we break and what are the ones that are untouchable?”
The question that many of us have is why? Why resort to these classic monsters for new material when there are original stories just waiting to be plucked?
According to Morgan, it’s because we are tired of seeing perfection on the screen. “Heroes tend to be perfect, but most people in an audience aren’t ever going to know what it’s like to be the smartest, strongest or fastest person alive. But there’s a darkness inside everybody. And everyone wants to be able to turn a curse into empowerment. The monsters have been in the shadows, and now it’s time to bring them out into the light.“
