My thoughts on why 'the Mummy' failed to launch Dark Universe

[MydnightPhoenix]

I believe interview With the Vampire he wasn't the star, it was more Louis' (Brad Pitt's) story. He was the scene stealer and he was still "Tom Cruise" . It's ironic that the only Mission Impossible movie I can sit through(MI2) is the one that is criticized for being too much a Tom Cruise movie.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Is this “universe” still happening? I haven’t heard anything about it since the Mummy movie flopped.

Last I heard the Bride of Frankenstein movie was still going ahead although it's 'temporarily on hold', with the director making a few comments interpreted by some as distancing his film from any 'universe'.

 

[Deck Rickard]

You know, maybe the best way to go about this is to just do the reverse of what Marvel did (or rather, the DC route) and just make a movie with all of the big guns out there. And then if it’s good, THEN split the more popular characters off into solo films. I know people criticized WB for (kind of) taking this approach and “rushing to the Justice League”, but I feel like the situation here is a bit different. We’ve seen SO many Dracula movies, so many Frankenstein movies, so many Mummy movies, etc. But we’ve only seen a handful of films where these characters team up.

Think about how much fun The Monster Squad was. Hell, it was Stranger Things before there was a Stranger Things. And Penny Dreadful was also fantastic. I think if they want Dark Universe to really get off the ground, then go all out. Give us the team up first.

Oh... and make sure it doesn’t suck.

 

[TheVileOne]

Well that was kind of the 2004 Van Helsing movie, which had Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman in it.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Well that was kind of the 2004 Van Helsing movie, which had Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman in it.

Y'know I'd forgotten all about the Van Helsing movie. I remember when it was coming out I was looking forward to it so much. I loved the featured cast and I've been a die-hard horror fan since I was about ten. And when it came... meh. I tried so hard to like it but I just couldn't. I did think the Brides were cool though - and of course Kate Beckinsale!

 

[Deck Rickard]

Well that was kind of the 2004 Van Helsing movie, which had Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman in it.

Crap. Why did you have to remind me that thing exists?

 

[TheVileOne]

Van Helsing is still a guilty pleasure for me. I think if it was rewritten a few times it would've been a lot better. IMHO a lot of problematic elements. For example, Van Helsing being this immortal type and the "right hand of God." No memories of his past. They basically turned Van Helsing into Wolverine-lite for Jackman and that didn't work.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Van Helsing is still a guilty pleasure for me. I think if it was rewritten a few times it would've been a lot better. IMHO a lot of problematic elements. For example, Van Helsing being this immortal type and the "right hand of God." No memories of his past. They basically turned Van Helsing into Wolverine-lite for Jackman and that didn't work.

One thing I do remember liking - don't know if you caught it - was the use of the Wolverine *snikt* sound effect from the X-Men movies [BLACKOUT]when we first saw Van Helsing's claws as he transformed into the werewolf! [/BLACKOUT]

 

[Peyton Westlake]

Perhaps, even more of a reason to re-cast Jackman not as Van Helsing but as Dracula himself.

Take a look at this thread : http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=530845

 

[AnneFan]

Hollywood are looking for franchises, reboots and remakes more than ever because they need to make more movies considering they aren’t banking as much cash as they used to.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

*Deleted*

 

[Peyton Westlake]

Hollywood are looking for franchises, reboots and remakes more than ever because they need to make more movies considering they aren’t banking as much cash as they used to.

a classic franchise to reboot or remake isn't a bad idea. The way Universal did it with the mummy is questionable though. I mean having Tommy boy run the whole production when they hired someone to shepard the direction was a huge mistake amongst other things. On a smaller note, I think having a mummy so attractive and not like this

doesn't help IMO. I dont want to be attracted to fearsome ghoul that is suppose to make you wet your pants. It is a horror movie. Its a Universal 'monster' movie ! It should reflect that.

 

[MydnightPhoenix]

As someone who became aware of The Mummy through the 99 movie I don't mind it being attractive as it regenerates and looks like it did when alive. But the most ridiculous attempt at making a ghoul attractive was with I Frankenstein. Even I as a shallow mofo had to laugh at the crap they tried to pull.

 

[MadVillainy]

Im not even a big fan of the monster movies, but it's really disappointing this didn't pan out

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

On a smaller note, I think having a mummy so attractive and not like this

doesn't help IMO. I dont want to be attracted to fearsome ghoul that is suppose to make you wet your pants. It is a horror movie. Its a Universal 'monster' movie ! It should reflect that.

This. Instead they all want to go down the action/pretty people route. I love some action-horror (Blade, Resident Evil, Underworld) but those movie franchises have been firmly action-horror since the first entry in each series. Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, Jekyll and Hyde, the Frankenstein monster, are established horror characters; I want to see them in horror films.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Van Helsing is still a guilty pleasure for me. I think if it was rewritten a few times it would've been a lot better. IMHO a lot of problematic elements. For example, Van Helsing being this immortal type and the "right hand of God." No memories of his past. They basically turned Van Helsing into Wolverine-lite for Jackman and that didn't work.

It gets downright stupid and ridiculous at times, but God, I love it. It appeals to my inner 12 year old and I appreciate how Sommers just goes for it. Sure it suffers from that early 00's era of over CGI, but the movie is still a lot of fun despite that and its other flaws. It at least accomplished a lot of what it set out to do. Make a slam bang roller coaster ride with a mixture of horror. It pulled it off better than this movie did, if you have to go in that direction.

 

[writer0327]

This. Instead they all want to go down the action/pretty people route. I love some action-horror (Blade, Resident Evil, Underworld) but those movie franchises have been firmly action-horror since the first entry in each series. Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, Jekyll and Hyde, the Frankenstein monster, are established horror characters; I want to see them in horror films.

I don't think old school Dracula/Wolfman/Frankenstein horror would be successful box-office hits in this day and age, this is why they went the action-horror route. If those types of films were still en vogue, Victor Frankenstein and Dracula Untold would've been bigger box office successes.

 

[MadVillainy]

They could've gone action horror but better. Was the Mummy 2017 even action horror? I mean it seemed like a straight action film to me. About as action horror as one of the Pirates of the Carribean movies.

They should've gone gothic horror action. Make it a period piece. Keep the budget low. They didn't need to spend 150+ million on this.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

The Mummy series has been more of action-adventure franchise than traditional horror since the second film in 1940, so that approach is nothing new.

Really only the original 1932 version with Boris Karloff (and in that one he's only the traditional bandaged mummy for about 2 minutes) and the 1959 Hammer film are more traditional horror.

On the other hand, those two are probably the best two films in the entire franchise, so maybe they should go back to that.

 

[TheVileOne]

It gets downright stupid and ridiculous at times, but God, I love it. It appeals to my inner 12 year old and I appreciate how Sommers just goes for it. Sure it suffers from that early 00's era of over CGI, but the movie is still a lot of fun despite that and its other flaws. It at least accomplished a lot of what it set out to do. Make a slam bang roller coaster ride with a mixture of horror. It pulled it off better than this movie did, if you have to go in that direction.

I agree 100%.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

They should've tried to add some unique flavor to each monster movie like Get Out or IT.

Instead they went with something generic and threw some star power in there.

Well that's not enough for a successful franchise anymore. Audiences want novelty, nostalgia, and/or fuN.

The three N's.

If the execution is poor on all three of these there's no way your franchise will get off the ground.

Just because Marvel makes it look easy doesn't mean it's actually easy.

Good luck Hasbro and Transformers cinematic universe.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I don't think old school Dracula/Wolfman/Frankenstein horror would be successful box-office hits in this day and age, this is why they went the action-horror route. If those types of films were still en vogue, Victor Frankenstein and Dracula Untold would've been bigger box office successes.

I didn't see Victor Frankenstein, but I'd certainly call Dracula Untold an action-horror rather than a traditional vampire tale.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I really wanted to like Van Helsing, but it just didn't work for me. I have no problem with goofy, disposable entertainment (including the 1999 Mummy film), but something was off. I found the characters largely annoying instead of endearing, and I thought the special effects were horrible. I normally don't let the latter bother me that much, but they are on such display I struggle to get beyond it. Mr. Hyde in particular looked really awful and it took me out of the film right at the beginning which is always tough for a film to come back from. These are actors I largely like, but they didn't have any of the charm that Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Arnold Vosloo had in the Mummy films.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I think the concept of Van Helsing was amazing, in the sense that it was a whole cinematic universe in a single film that could lend itself to some great stories. Some of it was too hammy for my tastes, but I liked Jackman and David Whenhan in the film quite a bit and I wouldn't have minded seeing another film of them slaying some other random Universal Monster.

 

[writer0327]

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (the graphic novel, not the God-awful, terrible car-fest of a movie) is what I felt the Dark Universe should have gone for if they wanted to blend a bunch of disparate stories, mythologies, and characters.