Rumor: James Wan producing Frankenstein for Universal?

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The information shared below reportedly first appeared in the same Variety article that announced the news of Dexter Fletcher signing on to direct a (comedic) RENFIELD movie for Universal that's based on a pitch from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. The article also mentioned that Universal wants Kirkman to produce a reboot of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON for them. Apparently there was a line in the article that was removed, but luckily our friends over at Bloody-Disgusting saw it before it could be deleted. 

It's lucky, because that line contained some big, interesting news. For a moment, Variety was reporting that Universal has been meeting with directors for a new take on FRANKENSTEIN that's being produced by James Wan and his company Atomic Monster.

We don't know why Variety decided to remove that information, so for now we have to call this one a RUMOR. Did it come from a questionable source, or did Variety give something away that's being kept secret for now? We'll have to wait and see if the announcement of a Wan-produced FRANKENSTEIN shows up soon.

Back when Universal was planning a cinematic universe of interconnected monster reboots, Javier Bardem was signed on to be the Frankenstein's Monster of the Dark Universe. It's not a sure thing that Bardem would still be involved if a FRANKENSTEIN project did get off the ground, since Blumhouse and Leigh Whannell made their version of THE INVISIBLE MAN without Johnny Depp, who was going to be The Invisible Man in the series that THE MUMMY was supposed to begin. But if you know Bardem is willing to be Frankenstein's Monster, why wouldn't you let him be the monster?

I'm still disappointed that Universal scrapped the version of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN that GODS AND MONSTERS director Bill Condon was going to make. I continue to hold out hope that the project will make its way back into Condon's hands now that Universal is taking a filmmaker-driven approach to standalone reboots of their monster properties.

Condon recently said that the script David Koepp wrote for their BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN was 

unbelievably good, and we were on the verge of making a really beautiful movie, I thought."

I'd much rather see that than a Wan-produced FRANKENSTEIN – but then again, maybe Condon and Wan could work together on this. We'll see how it goes, if Wan even is really attached to FRANKENSTEIN.