The Dark Universe, Universal Studios’ answer to the MCU featuring icons from classic horror films, focuses on a shared universe comprised of interconnected monster movies. An ambitious undertaking, it began with the release of The Mummy in 2017 and continued with The Invisible Man in 2020, with several more reboots on the way.
The uneven success of the first films in the Dark Universe have led Universal to focus more on rebooting its famous monster flicks for a new generation, rather than worrying about their horror icons featuring in each other’s stories. Every monster is known to have its own unique personality based on its origins, and in the Dark Universe. they’re even more developed than ever before, making them the perfect embodiment of the zodiac signs.
ARIES – MR. HYDE
Charismatic, hedonistic, and daring, Mr. Hyde is all the things that the well-comported, clinical, and cautious Dr. Jekyll is not. When Dr. Jekyll created the serum to transform him into the man he most wished to become, Hyde is what he turned into — for better or worse.
Mr. Hyde possesses all the most desirable and destructive traits of an Aries. While he’s confident and charming, he can also be brutish and aggressive, with no thought for the physical or personal boundaries of others.
TAURUS – THE INVISIBLE MAN
Once known as a scientist named Adrian Griffin, transformed by scientific experiments and consumed by his obsession for his ex-girlfriend, he became the malevolent being known as the Invisible Man.
Like many Tauruses, The Invisible Man is understandably a private person. His loyalty is without question, but he’s guarded around those that would abuse access to his vulnerable side, and may even kill to protect the parts of himself he doesn’t want revealed.
GEMINI – FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER
Though he may be cobbled together from cadavers of indeterminable age and stand seven feet tall, Frankenstein’s Monster possesses all the intellectual curiosity and vitality of a newborn.
Like a youthful Gemini, he is overly energetic about things he likes, and his enthusiasm may come off as destructive. He can be quick to anger and self-indulgent, but ultimately only wants to please the people around him.
CANCER – THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
The perfect mate for Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein is built to be a companion, but ultimately finds she craves her independence more than being tethered to someone like her.
Like many Cancers, the Bride of Frankenstein can be incredibly loving and emotive — until she doesn’t want to be. Due to her inherent mood changes, one moment she can revel in socializing and the next she wants to throw her guests out.
LEO – THE WOLFMAN
Once known as Lawrence Talbot, the prodigal son of a wealthy English aristocrat, he returned to his family home to make amends with his father and forge a stronger familial legacy. When he accidentally killed a gypsy’s son with a silver cane, he took on a terrible curse that transformed him into the Wolfman.
Like Leos, the Wolfman is a creature of broad displays of emotion and aggression. He is at once faithful and loving to the woman he desires as his human self, while also being savage and reckless when possessed by the curse.
VIRGO – DR. JEKYLL
Meticulous and fastidious, Dr Jekyll spends his life trying to appear as friendly and convivial as possible, all the while suppressing the evil urges that lurk within his character. When he invents a serum to eliminate them for good, he ingests it and accidentally becomes Mr. Hyde.
Like many Virgos, Dr. Jekyll is diligent and a worrier, often placing concern for the opinions of others above his own happiness. Unfortunately, his need to be perfect had the undesirable effect of creating a means to become a remorseless monster.
LIBRA – THE MUMMY
The original 1939 incarnation of Imhotep (the Mummy) is a doomed prince who, after being resurrected from death by a team of archaeologists, assumes the identity of a charming socialite and searches Egypt for his lost love’s reincarnated form. In 2017, Imhotep is replaced by Ahmanet, a betrayed goddess bent on revenge for her entombment, hoping to awaken her lover, Set.
In both instances, the Mummy embodies all the sensibilities of a Libra, whose romanticism can quickly turn to self-indulgence. The sign’s tendencies towards over-confidence and charm tend to make them gullible and easily influenced, which is usually how they’re outsmarted — or entombed.
SCORPIO – THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Born with a disfigurement in an uncompassionate world, Erik is a young boy who found refuge in the bowels of the Paris Opera House. There he gained an appreciation for its pageantry and composed operas for its ingenue, Christine, whom he formed an obsessive attachment to. He took on the persona of the Phantom and killed all those who opposed him.
As the Phantom, Erik is dark and mysterious like a Scorpio, capable of conveying passion and magnetism to entice Christine. When she decides she prefers the affections of Raoul, her childhood sweetheart, the Phantom becomes possessive, resentful, and overwhelmingly jealous.
SAGITTARIUS – THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
Originally, The Invisible Woman (1940) was a sci-fi comedy about a mad professor who experimented with an invisibility serum on a department store model. Once she’s invisible, she delights in taking revenge on an old boss and becomes the object of a millionaire’s desire. Elizabeth Banks will direct and star in the 2020 remake for Universal Studios.
When she has the power of invisibility, the Invisible Woman takes advantage of her freedom like a true Sagittarius, and there’s never a dull moment. Unfortunately, she can be careless and irresponsible with her powers, and runs afoul of some unscrupulous gangsters who want them.
CAPRICORN – THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
In the original 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the hunchbacked bellringer of the Notre Dame cathedral, Quasimodo, falls in love with a beautiful gypsy girl, whose life is jeopardized by the evil Archdeacon Frollo. The Dark Universe version is expected in 2022.
Like many Capricorns, the Hunchback is reliable, disciplined, and hard-working. Unfortunately, without human kindness, he became fatalistic. When Esmeralda chooses another man over him, Quasimodo wonders why he can’t be made of stone like the gargoyles that surround him.
AQUARIUS – DRACULA
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the Prince of Darkness, and the most famous vampire of all time will be given another origin story after its most recent retelling in Dracula: Untold. The untitled Dracula film will debut sometime after 2022 and is still in the pre-production phase.
Like many Aquarians, Dracula is a contrary creature of urbane sophistication and mercurial affections. He is at once a friendly and inviting host, as well as an emotionally detached killer. Like his sign, he is fiercely independent and answers to no one, making him the most powerful of all bloodsuckers.
PISCES – THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
In the 1954 horror classic, the Creature from the Black Lagoon is found when geologists in the Amazon find evidence linking sea life to land mammals. They discover an amphibious humanoid known as “Gill-Man,” who fixates on one of the scientist’s beautiful girlfriend. A remake for the Dark Universe is currently in develop for a 2022 release.
As piscine as they come, the Creature is curious, intuitive, and ultimately sympathetic, a being used for experiments without his consent. Only after the scientists threaten to harm him does he shed his Pisces personality, stalking the lagoon and waiting to devour them.
