Universal Pulls the Plug on the Dark Universe Films

[Mike Scott]

Blumhouse has been behind most of the great modern horror films of the last few years.

Who's Blumhouse?

[Mord]

Who's Blumhouse?

Jason Blum's production company. They do horror films with brains on a modest budget. It seems I see their name on a lot of my dvds/bluray. "Get Out", "The Gift", Insidious", The Visit", "Happy Death Day"....all good quality horror.

[Anton Phibes]

I like all those Insidious Movies. They're...I dunno, different. Kind of like what Marvel's Dr. Strange could have been if they played it spooky rather than the way the chose.

[KCE83]

Kind of like what Marvel's Dr. Strange could have been if they played it spooky rather than the way the chose.

I thought the same thing when I saw the first one!

[AlwaysWitty]

Who's Blumhouse?

Blumhouse is the company that was handed Halloween, didn't screw around like everyone else who tried to make one in the years since RZ's second one, and made what looks like it's going to be the best sequel in the franchise and maybe this year's It.

With Universal.

Hence why I'm convinced that Universal will wind up saying "wow, these guys know how to take dormant, even dead horror franchises and resurrect them with style" and hand them the classic monsters. If they haven't already.

[zombiehorror]

Hence why I'm convinced that Universal will wind up saying "wow, these guys know how to take dormant, even dead horror franchises and resurrect them with style" and hand them the classic monsters. If they haven't already.

But Universal would also have to acknowledge "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and let Blumhouse do the monsters as gothic-horror movies instead of action/adventure yarns.

[AlwaysWitty]

But Universal would also have to acknowledge "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and let Blumhouse do the monsters as gothic-horror movies instead of action/adventure yarns.

That's definitely the next question. If they want these films to succeed they need to stop trying to change these characters and the worlds they inhabit into something they're not. But we don't know what the factors will be to the agreement. The only thing safe to assume is that Blumhouse will be expected to do them as horror films and on a budget that isn't so darn huge. Beyond that, who knows what approach they'd take?

[Anton Phibes]

More Blumhouse chatter;

https://www.cbr.com/jason-blum-dark-universe-interest/

[aura of foreboding]

More Blumhouse chatter;

https://www.cbr.com/jason-blum-dark-universe-interest/

So what do we think of this? 

[zombiehorror]

So what do we think of this?

It's pretty much already been discussed here.  If Universal isn't willing to let Blumhouse take the reigns without interference then they'll still find a way to f*ck this franchise/universe up.  They did it with 2010's Wolfman, I'm sure they tinkered with Dracula Untold and they did it with the whole concept of this action/adventure-big budget-star lead dark universe.

[AlwaysWitty]

I'm sure they tinkered with Dracula Untold

I have the original screenplay. From 2006. They absolutely tinkered with it. Which is putting it mildly. A lot got cut out before the cameras even rolled because they wanted a smaller budget and a PG-13 rating, and they cut out some more afterward too and changed things around to make way for Charles Dance's nameless vampire master, rather than the vampire Caligula they planned on.

The infuriating thing about a lot of the unproduced screenplays I've gathered is that they're usually not that bad, even great sometimes. It sucks knowing something mediocre (or worse) made it to theaters while better ideas sit wasted on old drafts that got tossed out.

[TheMadScientist]

But Universal would also have to acknowledge "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and let Blumhouse do the monsters as gothic-horror movies instead of action/adventure yarns.

I'm not going to hold my breath on it happening, but I 100% agree that any remakes would work best as gothic-horror movies. I think the Penny Dreadful tv show (which I liked aspects of) is close to what I would ideally want. Maybe a less somber version of that, featuring character designs close to their iconic looks. I doubt it will happen, but a guy can dream. haha

[geezer butler]

You guys see this yet?

https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3583279/paul-feig-universals-monster-movie-dark-army-will-reportedly-include-classic-universal-monsters/

[Mord]

Fingers crossed

[marsattacks666]

I dig Paul Feig's films.