Dark Universe

Bram Stoker is famous as the creator of Dracula in his 1897 novel. But did you know that Stoker also wrote a novel that became the basis for a movie about the Mummy? It’s true; Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars, became the basis for the 1971 Hammer horror movie Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb. That’s just one of the spookily scarifying facts featured in the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

Universal was initially taking more of a “wait and see” approach to their burgeoning monster movie franchise, but that changed last week when the studio formally announced plans to kick things into high gear. The newly-dubbed and somewhat ambitious “Dark Universe” (not to be confused with Warner Bros.’ long-developing DC film) will feature long-rumored reboots like Bride of Frankenstein and The Wolfman, and rumor has it Universal is eyeing another one of their franchise super-stars to take the lead in the latter.

Universal is going dark.

With the recent creative changes behind the scenes of The Batman, Ben Affleck’s solo film probably won’t begin filming until 2018, which leaves a bit of a gap in Warner Bros.’ superhero schedule. Earlier this week, the studio pushed Aquaman back two months, pitting it against Sony’s animated Spider-Man movie in December 2018 — and with nothing else on the docket for the rest of the year, that leaves a sizable gap on the DC schedule.

After Guillermo del Toro’s exit from the Dark Universe movie, fans despaired that Warner Bros. would never find another director as cool and weird as he would be. But in stepped Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman, who seems to be all set to make this Justice League Dark adaptation as weird as he possibly can.

After Guillermo del Toro dropped out of the Dark Universe adaptation for DC and Warner Bros., it became yet another in a growing list of potentially cool movies that were never made and the future of the project was uncertain. Now it seems that Dark Universe has been resurrected, with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman replacing del Toro, who will remain involved as producer and screenwriter.

Although Guillermo del Toro parted ways with Warner Bros. over his vision for Justice League Dark (aka Dark Universe), the studio is still reportedly planning on moving forward with del Toro’s script — but without (almost) everything else that would make it a del Toro film. The other day rumors began circulating about potential cast members, and now comes word that WB is eyeing possible directors for the project as well.

Guillermo del Toro’s exit from Justice League Dark (aka Dark Universe) at Warner Bros. left many confused as to how — or if — the studio would proceed without him. But with the studio’s anti-hero blockbuster Suicide Squad generating excitement, a new rumor suggests that not only is WB moving forward with del Toro’s script, but they’ve also got their eye on at least a couple of potential stars.

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, Guillermo del Toro has dropped out of the proposed Justice League Dark movie. Or the Dark Universe movie. Or whatever everyone decided it was called. Every few years or so, del Toro tends to take a look at the dozen or so projects he’s spearheaded, gets realistic for a few seconds, and then shakes a few of them off. His take on the darker side of the DC comic book universe, which is still in the early stages of development, is the latest victim of his busy schedule.

It’s still not 100% confirmed that we’ll finally see Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Justice League Dark’ on the big screen—recently, the filmmaker confirmed that the script has been delivered to Warner Bros. and they’re just waiting on an official green light. But for those anxious to know which of the dark superheroes we might see in the film, the lineup has apparently been revealed.