It’s back to the drawing board for Universal’s Dark Universe, after the abysmal turn out of the first movie in the franchise, The Mummy, as producer/writers Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan have decided to leave the franchise behind.
Related: Dark Universe News
This news comes after Universal decided to scrap Bill Condon’s The Bride of Frankenstein for the foreseeable future in October after they deemed the script ‘Not ready’. Although Condon is still attached to direct, the release date has been shelved and no date to commence has been set in place.
It would seem Universal was a little premature in their enthusiasm surrounding the new franchise only releasing an image of an all-star cast that was to be involved earlier in the year that included Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem alongside Cruise.
They have since gone on to state “We’ve learned many lessons throughout the creative process on Dark Universe so far, and we are viewing these titles as filmmaker-driven vehicles, each with their own distinct vision,” says Universal president of production Peter Cramer. “We are not rushing to meet a release date and will move forward with these films when we feel they are the best versions of themselves.”
Aside from the poor reception of The Mummy, Kurtzman and Morgan are thriving elsewhere; Kurtzman’s deal with Universal expired in September and has decided to focus his time on the small screen arena. He is currently an executive producer on CBS All Access’s Star Trek: Discovery and has a deal with the company that spans across half a dozen other shows. Morgan’s future isn’t looking too shabby either, he is returning to the Fast and Furious franchise to write the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham spin-off focusing on Johnson’s character Hobbs.
