Universal confirms monster movie universe with Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem

The monsters are back. Astute viewers have known for awhile now that Universal’s upcoming remake of The Mummy could serve as a jumping-off point for a new film franchise featuring Universal’s stable of classic monsters. After all, in addition to Sofia Boutella’s titular monster and Tom Cruise’s intrepid adventurer, Nick Morton, the film also features Russell Crowe as the conspicuously named Dr. Henry Jekyll. Now, with just a few weeks to go before The Mummy‘s release, Universal has released more details about the incipient franchise, which will be known as the Dark Universe. In addition to the characters introduced in The Mummy, Dark Universe films will also feature Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man and Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s Monster.

The next installment of the franchise will be Bride of Frankenstein, currently set for release on Feb. 14, 2019 — a very monstrous Valentine’s Day. That film will be directed by Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast) and will feature Bardem, though his female counterpart has not yet been cast. Both The Mummy and Bride of Frankenstein will feature a new Dark Universe logo. Check out the logo below.

For those curious for more story details about the Dark Universe, Universal has set up two websites. www.WelcomeToProdigium.com gives viewers a quick look at Prodigium, the mysterious international monster-fighting organization run by Crowe’s Jekyll, while www.DarkUniverse.com is a landing page for news and images.