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

[Milk Tray Guy]

One thing ,Im sure most would agree on, is that the 'Dark' universe they tried to launch....very much lacked any gothic elements or any 'true' horror at all. You would think you have these classic horror characters, lets try to surround them in their own element and ramp up the horror.

Going back to this comment you made a while back, I agree. I want a straight horror shared universe. I'm not interested in another action-horror hybrid. I can (and do) watch the Blade, Resident Evil, and Underworld films for that. I want a pure horror franchise involving these hugely iconic characters. Thing is there are people advocating just as keenly for action-horror and I have a feeling that at the end of the day that's the way Universal will go, under the belief that that will bring in more money. Honestly, I hold out very little hope for a true gothic horror shared universe

 

[Silvermoth]

Let's be honest, how many times does the shared universe thing work anyway? Very rarely. Make good films first and maybe link them up if they work

 

[HKpowerup]

Let's be honest, how many times does the shared universe thing work anyway? Very rarely. Make good films first and maybe link them up if they work

Exactly. Studios need to focus on making good quality stand-alone/contained movies FIRST, establish themselves and their brand, then worry about connecting everything in a shared universe later.

Let it flow naturally.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Let's be honest, how many times does the shared universe thing work anyway? Very rarely. Make good films first and maybe link them up if they work

Absolutely. Which of course is what Universal did with their original 1930s/1940s horror cycle. We had Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man (plus sequels to each of those), and The Wolf Man before the first crossover. Now I'm not saying that showed remarkable planning, patience, and forethought on the part of Universal, because I doubt that a 'shared universe' was part of their original intention with these characters, but the fact remains it worked.

 

[Peyton Westlake]

Also, the Mummy may have been the wrong character to start with.




http://fandom.wikia.com/articles/da...ead?li_source=LI&li_medium=wikia-impactfooter

 

[Silvermoth]

Didn't they start with Dracula?

 

[Roose Bolton]

They ditched Dracula when they thought the Mummy would be better.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

And will now ditch the Mummy to see if something else does better.

 

[Arachnerd]

Third time's the "charm" I guess.

 

[Deck Rickard]

You know, the casting announcement that interested me the most was Javier Bardem as Frankenstein, but apparently they're going to do the Bride of Frankenstein first? So they can't even do that series right.

 

[Matt Mortem]

You know, the casting announcement that interested me the most was Javier Bardem as Frankenstein, but apparently they're going to do the Bride of Frankenstein first? So they can't even do that series right.

Javier as the monster can and should appear in Bride.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Didn't they start with Dracula?

They inserted some stuff (including the ending) at the last minute in Dracula Untold so that it could lead into the 'Dark Universe' but then decided not to follow it up and instead started afresh with The Mummy.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Dark Universe’: Writer Ed Solomon Departs ‘Invisible Man

https://heroichollywood.com/dark-universe-loses-solomon-invisible-man/

 

[samsnee]

Oh no! Now this franchise is doomed (still)

 

[Boom]

I mean, couldn't they just get the writers of Penny Dreadful to take a crack at this?

 

[Black Narcissus]

I mean, couldn't they just get the writers of Penny Dreadful to take a crack at this?

Don't give them good ideas, bald frog. I want those writers on Justice League Dark movie.

 

[Boom]

Don't give them good ideas, bald frog. I want those writers on Justice League Dark movie.

God DAMN that is a great idea.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Dark Universe’: Writer Ed Solomon Departs ‘Invisible Man

https://heroichollywood.com/dark-universe-loses-solomon-invisible-man/

And the news on the Dark Universe just gets more and more encouraging...

 

[Silvermoth]

Just saw the shape of water which I think proves that monster flicks can still work.

I think the trick is that the moral of the story is they're not the monsters, we're the monsters. If you can nail that you've got it.

I wish gdt was the Whedon of the shared u though

 

[Teelie]

Shape of Water is ironically a great representation of that too, since it is an indirect remake of Creature From the Black Lagoon that GDT wanted to do and Universal denied him.

 

[Silvermoth]

Gosh why on earth would you deny gdt anything?

It's funny because there's probably a lot you could do with something like Frankenstein as we're definitely back in a time, on both sides, where people will be chased with torches and pitchforks

 

[TheVileOne]

There is no more Dark Universe. It's dead.

You probably deny Del Toro because let's face it, he doesn't have the best track record in terms of big successful movies. The Hellboy movies weren't huge hits. Pacific Rim under-performed. Crimson Peak didn't do well. Dude is an amazing filmmaker, and The Shape of Water will probably help him do whatever he wants next, but he tends to be a bit hit and miss with his projects.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

There is no more Dark Universe. It's dead.

Yeah, it's certainly gone very quiet. I guess dead things don't make much noise - unless they're in a horror film of course

 

[Lighthouse]

Gosh why on earth would you deny gdt anything?

It's funny because there's probably a lot you could do with something like Frankenstein as we're definitely back in a time, on both sides, where people will be chased with torches and pitchforks

I'm still bitter about "At The Mountains of Madness".

 

[MydnightPhoenix]

I still can't stand what they did to The Mummy at the end. Shared universes take time and build up and nice interconnection; not just throw away lines and Dr. Jekyl showing up as monster Nick Fury.

When it comes to DC its funny because they can do shared universes great with cartoons and even some TV shows.