The failure of 2017’s The Mummy saw Universal’s planned Dark Universe fall at the first hurdle, meaning seven movies were canceled as a result. The Mummy was imagined by Universal as the first installment in their own shared universe, based on Universal’s Classic Monsters franchise. Simultaneously the pilot of the studio’s new franchise and a reboot of the 1990s Mummy franchise, the film starred Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella, the latter in the titular role.
The film was produced on a $125-$195 million budget, not accounting for marketing and distribution costs. With a worldwide box office haul of $410 million, the film was a failure at the box office and solidified the Dark Universe as a shared cinematic franchise that should not have happened. Due to The Mummy‘s failure, all other installments planned or rumored for the Dark Universe were scrapped, making the franchise essentially dead on arrival for Universal.
7 The Mummy 2
While The Mummy 2 was never officially confirmed, the positioning of Cruise and Boutella as two of the central cast members of the Dark Universe meant they were expected to continue portraying their respective roles in future installments. When 2017’s The Mummy released in the Dark Universe, an image was revealed highlighting the core cast members of the imagined shared universe with Cruise and Boutella among the other actors. As such, it is safe to assume both actors were set to return in future movies in the Dark Universe including a sequel to The Mummy.
6 The Bride Of Frankenstein
One planned movie in the Dark Universe that was officially confirmed, however, was a remake of Bride of Frankenstein. Angelina Jolie was cast in the titular role with the film originally scheduled for a 2019 release date by Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon. Initially, Bride of Frankenstein was envisaged as the beginning of the Dark Universe before that honor shifted to The Mummy. After The Mummy‘s failed release, Bride of Frankenstein was postponed indefinitely. By 2019, plans for the Dark Universe fell through, leaving Jolie’s Bride of Frankenstein as one of the unfortunate casualties.
5 Frankenstein’s Monster
Another Frankenstein-related film slated to be part of the Dark Universe was Frankenstein’s Monster. The aforementioned image sharing the core cast members of the franchise highlighted the esteemed Javier Bardem alongside Cruise and Boutella. Bardem was confirmed as the actor who would play Frankenstein’s Monster in the Dark Universe. Just like the other projects on this list though, the failure of The Mummy saw the film fall apart. While Bardem told Entertainment Weekly as late as January 2022 that he would still like to play the character, nothing official is in the works and, if it was, it would certainly not be part of the Dark Universe continuity.
4 The Invisible Man
Another big name also present in the image released by Universal teasing the cast of the Dark Universe was none other than Johnny Depp. The actor was set to appear in a new film based on The Invisible Man, not to be confused with 2020’s The Invisible Man from director Leigh Whannell. The latter film spawned from Universal’s insistence on returning to standalone monster movies caused by the failure of The Mummy in 2017. As such, Johnny Depp’s Invisible Man did not happen serving as another victim of The Mummy‘s – and the Dark Universe’s – failure that squandered a talented actor in an intriguing role.
3 Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Alongside Cruise, Boutella, Bardem, and Depp in the image released to promote the Dark Universe was Russell Crowe. Crowe appeared in 2017’s The Mummy in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While not playing a huge role, his momentary turn into Mr. Hyde was likely used as a set-up to tell a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. With Crowe being positioned as one of the main Dark Universe actors, this was likely set to be its own film despite never being confirmed by Universal. Regardless, the franchise’s disbandment in 2019 meant that Crowe’s time as the dual-personality monster was over.
2 Dracula Untold 2
One of the more interesting inclusions on this list is Dracula Untold 2. The first movie, 2014’s Dracula Untold, featured Luke Evans in the titular role and gave the iconic Vampire a new origin story. At the end of the film, a clear setup was presented for a sequel. At the time, several Universal producers such as Alissa Phillips who worked on the first film stated in an interview with HeyUGuys that, while the film was initially not part of the Dark Universe, reshoots took place to tie it into what Alex Kurtzman was working on with The Mummy. At Dracula Untold‘s 2014 premiere, Phillips said:
“I was really excited to be part of that. When we started out we weren’t [part of the series], but then we found out that they were going to do it. Working with Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan who are very much a part of creating The Mummy and the other ones…it’s been fun to be a part of that.”
That said, the critical and commercial failure of Dracula Untold caused the connections to the Dark Universe to be downplayed, with The Mummy repositioned as the true beginning of the franchise. Still, the comments from Universal officials involved in the film confirm that the film was somewhat tied to Universal’s franchise. This, combined with Dracula Untold‘s obvious sequel foreshadowing, meant that the failure of The Mummy killed any chance of Dracula Untold 2 happening.
1 Van Helsing
One of the other unconfirmed films for the Dark Universe was a remake of Van Helsing. While not officially announced by Universal, a report from The Hollywood Reporter shortly after The Mummy‘s 2017 release revealed that the studio was polishing a script for Van Helsing with Channing Tatum being eyed for the titular role. The film was planned to be based on the titular monster hunter, which is especially interesting given that The Mummy set up a monster-hunting organization named Prodigium. Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll was positioned as the leader of this organization.
While not confirmed as such, Crowe’s character was likely set to be the Dark Universe’s equivalent of Nick Fury in the MCU, the man who would bring all disparate franchises together. As the leader of Prodigium, Crowe’s Jekyll would likely have contacted Van Helsing, the monster hunter notorious for his roles in Universal’s Classic Monsters franchise. As with the rest of the planned installments in the Dark Universe though, the overwhelming failure of The Mummy meant that Tatum was never cast, a Van Helsing movie never entered development, and the Dark Universe died before it could ever truly begin.
