Thanks to The Avengers and the success that has followed it, the film industry as a whole is seemingly experiencing what we’ll term “Shared Universe Fever,” a condition that is rivaling the Disco Fever that plagued a nation in the 1970’s, and the Hulkamania that followed in the ’80s.
Truth be told, it actually kind of makes sense in Universal’s case, especially when the studio has a license to some of the most iconic monsters around. Really, they’ve been at this for so long that the lore they’ve established for werewolves, vampires and the like has actually overtaken folklore of centuries past, and is somehow now regarded as being canonical among the public at large.
Unfortunately, though, the studio really put the cart before the horse with this whole Dark Universe concept, hoping that their recent reboot of The Mummy would find the same success that the previous set of flicks did. Of course, we now know that things didn’t work in their favor, fueling speculation that the skeleton being assembled had already been salted and burned due to box office failure.
So, naturally, it didn’t come as any surprise that production had been halted on Bride of Frankenstein. But, who knows, maybe with rising star Gal Gadot being considered to feature opposite Javier Bardem in the title role, Universal may still feel there’s potential to be found yet.
In fact, according to Omega Underground, the gears have begun turning once again on the picture, which is to be helmed by Bill Condon – and here’s who they say has signed up thus far:
The crew includes cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler (Lone Survivor, Beauty and The Beast, A Wrinkle In Time), production designer Sarah Greenwood (Darkest Hour, Beauty and The Beast, Atonement, Sherlock Holmes), composer Carter Burwell (Carol, Fargo, True Grit, No Country For Old Men, Three Billboards), and costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Beauty and The Beast, Atonement, Darkest Hour).
As usual, keep checking back for further updates regarding Bride of Frankenstein. If such chatter continues, there may be much more to discuss on this front before long.