Full Moon's upcoming series Miskatonic U has the opportunity to bring back Herbert West of Re-Animator. Miskatonic University is one of the most recognizable locations from H.P. Lovecraft's stories, as it is featured in several of the author's various works. Being that Miskatonic University is the location where Herbert West brought the living back from the dead, he is an ideal candidate to establish the story in the series.
Herbert West first appeared in Lovecraft's short story, "Herbert West-Reanimator", from 1921 t0 1922. The story details how West created the a formula known as the "reagent" that can bring the dead back to life. West, a medical student, uses the lab at Miskatonic University to conduct his experiments. The original short story was adapted by Stuart Gordon, who did several adaptations of Lovecraft's work during his career. In the movie, Herbert West was portrayed by Jeffrey Combs, whose credits include Necronomicon and The Dunwich Horror, two other adaptations of Lovecraft's work. After the release of the 1985 movie, he became one of Lovecraft's most recognizable characters, but the history of his alma mater remained relatively unknown. With the release of Full Moon's Miskatonic U, his extracurricular activities and environment may finally be exposed for what it is — a horror story of cosmic proportions.
Since the Re-Animator series concluded, West has yet to appear in another major movie. Herbert West was mentioned in passing in Misha Green's HBO series, Lovecraft Country, when Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) announced that he'd have to travel to "Lovecraft Country," where the notorious medical student brought the dead to life. West's character remains relevant in the Lovecraftian horror sub-genre, and Miskatonic U might just bring him back — here's how.
Miskatonic University is home to an array of nefarious faculty members. These individuals have originated from several of different Lovecraft stories, and teach courses such as anthropology, zoology, and history at the school. There's even a librarian who might just hold a copy of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Since Herbert West is a medical student at the university, Miskatonic U could bring him back by expanding on what courses he took, which professors nurtured his discovery of the reagent, and how he—as well as his experiments—may have involved some of his peers.
The series has the opportunity to create an entirely new mythos to the iconic Lovecraft character. Miskatonic U could also be set during an entirely different moment in time, where Herbert West might be a teacher or even in the midst of crafting his reagent rather than having it ready upon his arrival to the university. If the series goes in either of these routes, it opens up the potential of making Herbert West's involvement at Miskatonic University much bigger than just as the man who reanimated corpses. While the creation of the reagent is attributed to his skills in the medical field, if Miskatonic U also includes the Necronomicon, he could've found a way to bring the dead to life through a formula derived from the book of the dead.
Full Moon's options of involving Herbert West in the upcoming series and bringing him back into mainstream Lovecraftian horror are essentially limitless. While they have yet to announce any plans to include the character, it's likely he will appear somehow, but how is still up for debate. Whether he's a student, a teacher, or simply the Re-Animator, Herbert West could have the greatest storyline in Miskatonic U, if given the chance to return.