The Mummy producer: Dark Universe should have been built up slowly

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Two years ago, a new version of THE MUMMY made over $409 million at the global box office and was still considered such a failure that it caused Universal to scrap their plans for a Dark Universe of interconnected monster movie reboots. They spent so much money on a MUMMY movie that $409 million was a disappointment. It's still baffling to me.

The producers behind the Dark Universe endeavor were Alex Kurtzman (who also directed THE MUMMY) and Chris Morgan, who has written every film in the FAST & FURIOUS franchise since the third one. While doing press for the FAST & FURIOUS spin-off HOBBS & SHAW, Morgan was asked by io9 if he has any regrets about THE MUMMY and the collapse of the Dark Universe… and Morgan said he doesn't.

That's surprising to hear, because I would expect him to have plenty of regrets. Regret that they spent too much money on THE MUMMY. Regret that we won't see the movies he and Kurtzman were overseeing – especially that it put our chances of ever seeing a Frankenstein movie from the director of GODS AND MONSTERS in jeopardy. (Bill Condon's BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN was going to be the second film in the Dark Universe, but production was cancelled.) 

Morgan said, 

I think it’s just, you know, I think (the Dark Universe) probably was trying to come together too quickly, I would say. And I think everyone got to take a breath and take a step back and take a look at it, and now just focus on maybe doing it a little bit slower."

Universal has also realized they need to lower the budgets on these things. The studio is currently working with Blumhouse Productions on a version of THE INVISIBLE MAN written and directed by Leigh Whannell. Believed to have a budget of "no more than $10 million", that film stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen as the title character instead of Johnny Depp, who was attached to star in a different version of THE INVISIBLE MAN back when the Dark Universe was moving at full steam.

Morgan approves of what Universal is doing with THE INVISIBLE MAN, saying they're 

going about the monster films the right way. Which is to really focus on taking a good script, good story, put it out there, if you’re going to build a universe build it from something strong like that. And I think they’re not so much worried about putting a universe out there as they are making great monster films, so I’m looking forward to seeing them."

THE INVISIBLE MAN is scheduled to reach theatres on March 13, 2020.

And I'm still hoping we'll see a Bill Condon-directed Frankenstein movie someday.