Another hour, another hugely surprising bit of news from the hills of Hollywood has arrived and it’s another doozy – Universal Pictures has announced that Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge co-stars Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem are joining the studio’s new Dark Universe, their new cinematic revamp of their classic Monsters film series.

With the first film in the franchise, The Mummy, set for release in a couple of weeks the studio has today announced the expansion of their roster of A-list stars to join Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible 6), Sofia Boutella (Star Trek Beyond) and Russell Crowe (The Nice Guys) in the series.

Depp will play The Invisible Man while Bardem will portray Frankenstein’s Monster and will form under the new Dark Universe banner created for the new series. The Mummy is the first film out the blocks but will be joined by The Bride of Frankenstein on Valentine’s Day 2019, to be directed by Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast) and you would assume feature Bardem’s debut.

In addition to the acting talent, Universal is bringing together Alex Kurtzman (“The Mummy“), Chris Morgan (“The Fate of the Furious“), Christopher McQuarrie (“Mission: Impossible” series, “The Usual Suspects“) and David Koepp (“War of the Worlds,” “Jurassic Park“) as the “brain trust” who will shape the series going forward. Composer Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider-Man) has scored a new “logo trailer” which will show before The Mummy next month.

On the announcement, Universal Pictures’ Chairman Donna Langley said:

“We take enormous pride in the creativity and passion that has inspired the reimagining of Universal’s iconic monsters and promise audiences we will expand this series strategically.

The enterprise masterfully developed by Chris and Alex will allow each subsequent chapter the right time to find the perfect cast, filmmakers, and vision to fulfill it. As we launch Dark Universe with Danny’s provocative theme before ‘The Mummy‘ and collaborate with a brilliant filmmaker like Bill to weave the story of a very modern woman in a very classic tale, we feel confident we’re off to a tremendous start.”

The Mummy opens on June 9th.