Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Universal wants to finally reboot the classic monster franchises that helped the studio exist in the first place. This time, Universal is going to The Amazing Spider-Man writer Alex Kurtzman and Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan for help.
According to Deadline, which first reported on the plan, the idea is to have Kurtzman and Morgan create a universe where The Mummy, Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman, Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and more all exist together. The site notes that it is not known if either of them will personally write any particular movie or if they are just going to act as movie “showrunners.”
Of course, Kurtzman isn’t new to the Universal Monsters world. The studio has been trying to get a new Mummy reboot off the ground for years and Kurtzman and his Amazing Spider-Man writing partner Roberto Orci were once writing that. They were also going to work together on a Van Helsing reboot.
Now that the two aren’t working together on feature films, Universal has picked Morgan to work with Kurtzman. Morgan is a safe bet for the studio, since he’s largely responsible for writing several Fast & Furious films.
That Mummy reboot is apparently still in the works and might be the launching point of the new franchise. Variety reports that it is scheduled for release on April 22, 2016.
Universal is also releasing Dracula Untold in October.
For those who aren’t aware, the monsters are the simplest way to explain how Universal made it through the Great Depression. The one-two punch of Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931 made it possible for the studio to stay alive. The monsters also helped the studio out in the 1950s with The Creature from the Black Lagoon and more.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com