Though The Invisible Man is making waves for Universal Studios, not every attempt to launch the Dark Universe was as successful. When it was announced that Universal planned to work with modern horror masters Blumhouse on reviving their classic monster movies, fans seemed almost relieved by the news. Universal has been trying to bring back the iconic cinematic monsters that made them famous during the Golden Age of Hollywood for decades now, and it just never seemed to take off. Each attempt seemed messier and less appealing to audiences than the last, culminating in the highly expensive disaster that was 2017’s Tom Cruise-led reboot of The Mummy.

The Dark Universe is arguably one of the most notable examples of how a major studio attempted to launch a franchise and failed miserably. In an age of the expanded universe model where every producer desperately tries to replicate the wildly successful structure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is something especially fascinating about how many times Universal tried to revive their monsters franchise by copying the blockbuster of the day.

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Now, it finally seems to have stuck, with Universal letting Blumhouse turn the classic story of The Invisible Man into a truly terrifying contemporary story of domestic abuse and gaslighting, led by a startling performance by Elisabeth Moss. It’s a film that understands the core appeal of those classic stories but is smart enough to update its themes to reflect modern concerns, something that horror does better than any other genre when it’s firing on all cylinders. This is a tactic that Universal seemed sadly unable to learn for many years, as evidenced by their many failed attempts to make the Dark Universe happen.

Van Helsing

In 2004, a Van Helsing movie seemed like a fun idea. Stephen Sommers had helped put Universal monsters back on the map with The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser, a reboot that mixed classic horror with Indiana Jones-style adventuring, and Hugh Jackman was quickly becoming one of the most bankable names in Hollywood following the runaway success of the X-Men franchise. Instead of adapting one familiar title like Dracula or Frankenstein, Van Helsing was a veritable monster mash, mixing together the classic creatures with the general mood of golden age horror, all through a modern blockbuster lens. Universal had big plans for Van Helsing, including an animated prequel that went straight to DVD and sequels aplenty to introduce even more classic monsters.

Van Helsing was savaged by critics for its derivative nature and lack of creativity - plus some seriously ropey CGI - but it did make over $300 million worldwide, which was nothing to sneeze at in 2004. Still, with a reported budget of $160 million, those numbers weren't good enough, and Universal put its franchise dreams to bed for a few more years.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Even as Van Helsing failed, Universal still had their popular reboot of The Mummy on their side to keep their franchise dreams afloat. They even released a financially successful sequel, The Mummy Returns, albeit one the fans liked far less than its predecessor. 1999’s The Mummy works so well because it’s an unabashedly old-school action-adventure helmed by a goofily charismatic Brendan Fraser performance and a distinct lack of grimness. Universal was certainly confident enough to invest in a third movie, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, starring Jet Li as the villain. Sadly, the magic was gone, as was Rachel Weisz, replaced by a game but wasted Maria Bello. It just lacks the personality and charm of the first two films, and they never managed to recapture it. The film did well enough at the box office but was still the lowest-grossing film in The Mummy trilogy, which killed plans for a fourth film featuring Antonio Banderas as the villain and an Aztec setting.

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The Wolfman

Universal initially announced their remake of The Wolfman in 2006, and One Hour Photo director Mark Romanek was brought on board to helm the project. After he dropped out due to creative differences, he was replaced by Joe Johnston, a more traditional studio-approved director, which seemed to be a sign of unfortunate things to come. The Wolfman is the reboot of the Universal monster series that adheres most closely to its source material in terms of style and tone, mostly due to it being a period piece, but that's as close as it gets to capturing any of the original's eerie charm. The legendary Rick Baker was brought on board to do the werewolf effects and make-up, but the film ended up relying far more on CGI, which proved detrimental to the overall film's effectiveness. While Benicio del Toro is excellent in the lead role, The Wolfman is mostly dull and bereft of scares. Even Ronald Meyer, then-president of Universal Studios, said the "crappy" film was "one of the worst movies we ever made." Audiences agreed, and the film failed to recoup its lofty $150 million budget.

Dracula Untold

Luke Evans in Dracula Untold

With Dracula Untold, Universal was once again ready to go all-in on a monsters franchise, and what better way to do it than by reviving the daddy of them all, Count Dracula? By 2014, Marvel clearly ruled the roost of blockbuster cinema, and every studio seemed eager to copy their formula. It made a lot of sense for Universal to want to follow suit, given that their original monster series relied heavily on a similar style of cross-overs, sequels, and familiar characters jumping from film to film.

The issue with Dracula Untold is that it seems far too keen to borrow from Marvel rather than Universal's own history. This paranormal historical action movie imagines Dracula as the historical figure of Vlad the Impaler, as played by Luke Evans, who then chooses to become a vampire to fight a war against the Ottoman Empire. The film sadly doesn't work as an Iron Man-style origin story or as a reimagining of a literary classic. The end result is a confused mish-mash that's decidedly lacking in any sort of fun or creative appeal. The film did well enough given its relatively slim budget, but it was clear that this Dracula wouldn't be returning to the big screen any time soon.

The Mummy (2017)

Universal was so confident that their latest reboot of The Mummy would be a hit and launch a whole new franchise that they even created a logo for the Dark Universe. Even more influenced by the Marvel mold of blockbuster cinema than Dracula Untold, 2017’s The Mummy was a big-budget Tom Cruise vehicle, sold more on its flashy stunts than the monster mythos. Unfortunately, the film possessed none of the technical flair found in Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise, and the final product failed to ignite excitement among general audiences.  The mummy herself, played by Sofia Boutella, became a total non-entity in what was ultimately The Tom Cruise Show, and the attempts to establish Prodigium, the franchise’s version of S.H.I.E.L.D. headed by Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, was dead on arrival. Audiences simply did not care about this concept, and given that the entire film existed only to build up this idea for a multi-film franchise, that was obviously a bad sign. The hubris from Universal to announce an all-star line-up for their Dark Universe, which included Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem, made the financial disappointment of The Mummy all the more cringe-inducing.

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