Universal is still working on a Bride of Frankenstein movie, even after scrapping the Dark Universe. Back in 2017, the studio announced it would be reviving its classic monster franchises as part of an MCU-inspired shared universe called the Dark Universe, beginning with the Tom Cruise-led reboot of The Mummy. However, those plans were ultimately abandoned after The Mummy bombed with critics and struggled to cover its budget (which reportedly ballooned to upwards of $195 million during production) at the box office.
The studio is now pushing forward with a series of director-driven - and more cost efficient - reboots instead, beginning with Blumhouse and Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man later this month. Among the other Universal monster projects currently in development are a film about Dracula's henchman R.M. Renfield from Rocketman helmsman Dexter Fletcher and Paul Feig's mysterious Dark Army movie. In the past, however, it's been indicated the studio is still willing to revisit the movies they had planned for the Dark Universe. Matter of fact, they're working on getting Bride of Frankenstein up and going right now.
According to Variety, seasoned producer Amy Pascal (who moved her production deal from Sony to Universal lat year) is actively working to get a new Bride of Frankenstein movie off the ground and running. Pascal is even reaching out to David Koepp, who wrote the Dark Universe iteration of the film, about the current version, in addition to approaching Sam Raimi and John Krasinski about potentially directing.
The Dark Universe's Bride of Frankenstein movie was set to be directed by Oscar-winner Bill Condon, with Angelina Jolie and Javier Bardem starring as the eponymous character and the Frankenstein monster. It appears that all three of those players have since moved on to other projects, with Variety's sources claiming Jolie specifically is ready to step away from the Bride of Frankenstein role and focus on other films. Raimi is equally unlikely to direct the film at this point, having only recently entered talks to direct Marvel's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness instead. As for Krasinski, his involvement is more up in the air; he's actively finishing post-production on A Quiet Place Part II for release next month, but may be available after that (assuming he doesn't decide to jump right into A Quiet Place 3).
With the right creative vision, a Bride of Frankenstein reboot could easily prove to be worthwhile. Koepp previously described his story for the film as a "tale of liberation" that deals with issues of "men trying to feel dominant over women", which also sounds like something worth revisiting. It would even line up with Whannell's relevant approach to The Invisible Man and the way the film re-imagines the classic horror property as a parable about domestic abuse by having the titular character turn himself invisible to terrorize his ex-girlfriend after she flees him. Should The Invisible Man prove to be a success, that would only further spur Universal to try and get a similar take on Bride of Frankenstein into production.
Source: Variety
