Horror Movies: Universal’s Dark Universe Could Be Making Another Return

Once upon a time in nightmare land, for decades (from the ’20s through the ’60s), Universal Pictures hosted some of the most popular horror movies of all time. With classic horror movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon, among many others, Universal Pictures dominated the industry. In 2014, the movie studio created the Dark Universe as an umbrella production company to host the classic movies and future films.

For their first new addition, the company released the 2014 horror flop Dracula Untold. The film was directed by Gary Shore, and it starred Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, Sarah Gadon, and Charles Dance. The horror movie was initially intended to be the first entry in a new franchise, but after largely poor reviews, it ended up being a standalone film.

The studio’s next installment was the 2017 monster movie The Mummy. Aside from the 1932 classic, most mummy-themed films are largely considered a disappointment among both critics and audiences alike, and such was the case with the new updated version. Directed by Alex Kurtzman, the horror flick featured an all-star cast: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Sofia Boutella, and Annabelle Wallis. It was intended to spin-off into other films, including Russell Crowe reprising his role as Dr. Henry Jekyll. But despite the stellar cast, the familiar theme was once again considered a failure among most fans and critics.

Because of the Tom Cruise feature flopping, the production company pulled future horror movies, including the Bride of Frankenstein. It seemed the new Dark Universe was all but dead, and while they may not have produced any hits, horror fans were saddened nonetheless. But now there may be good news for genre fans.

As MovieWeb recently documented, and as seen below, artist Robert Vargas released a post on his Instagram account that is giving horror enthusiasts hope for a return of more monster movies. Vargas stated that he had a great meeting with the Dark Universe team. He thanked Holly Goline, an executive at the production company, and said he looks forward to contributing to the studio’s legacy and that, “monster things [are] in the works.”

While we can’t be certain, it looks like fans can look forward to more horror movies from the company,and more fantastic monster art from Robert Vargas.