Universal's cinematic movie monsters universe has gained some new writers in an attempt to create a new brain trust in which they will all will have a hand in each other's movies and offer help as needed as they work on a model of serialized storytelling, according to THR.
Yesterday we learned that PRISONERS scribe Aaron Guzikowski was rumored to be taking the writing duties on Uni's upcoming THE WOLF MAN reboot, and now that news has been confirmed. THR has also learned that Ed Solomon, the veteran screenwriter behind MEN IN BLACK and NOW YOU SEE ME, has also joined Guzikowski, Noah Hawley, Chris Morgan, and Alex Kurtzman to act as a writers collective of Universal Studios' cinematic monster universe.
As part of the move, Guzikowski will take the lead writing THE WOLF MAN, a new take on the classic werewolf tale that will hopefully re-launch a franchise and also weave in with the movies of the other monster characters. Hawley and Solomon have yet to take point on projects as the plan is still unfolding.
Morgan and Kurtzman, notable scribes in their own right, are producing the monster movies.
THR also points out that “other planned movies [besides the Mummy and Wolf Man] revolve around the characters of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein and vampire hunter Van Helsing.” It’s not clear what the order for the movies will be nor what stages of development the projects are in, although Universal has staked out Friday, April 21, 2017, for its second monster franchise film, which will follow Kurtzman's THE MUMMY which will unwrap with a June 24, 2015 release date.
The wording of the article makes one wonder if this years DRACULA UNTOLD will be the version of Dracula explored in the new classic monster universe. The Luke Evans-starring film was given a modern day coda which theoretically allows it to be linked to future films, and the assumption was that it was the first in the new shared universe, but that remains to be seen.
More on the Universal classic monsters series as we hear it.