Alex Kurtzman, one of the creative minds behind Universal Pictures’ Dark Universe, calls the Bride of Frankenstein script “brilliant” and says that the film will explore a relationship that will feel relatable to audiences. Universal recently named their shared monsters universe the Dark Universe, and it officially kicks off this weekend with Kurtzman’s The Mummy reboot, starring Tom Cruise as cursed treasure hunter Nick Morton and Sofia Boutella as Princess Ahmanet, aka the Mummy.

Kurtzman has spent the last few years working to establish the Dark Universe, which now includes reboots for Dracula, Van Helsing, The Wolf Man, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Phantom of the Opera, and Creature from the Black Lagoon, as well as The Invisible Man, starring Johnny Depp as the eponymous character. The next installment in the Dark Universe, though, is Bill Condon’s Bride of Frankenstein, starring Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster.

In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Kurtzman said David Koepp’s (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man) script for Condon’s Bride of Frankenstein is “brilliant.” He said the script stays true to the original film, while also depicting a relationship between Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride that will feel relatable to modern-day audiences:

“David Koepp wrote a brilliant script. A brilliant script with a very unique structure and a central relationship that I think is gonna be relatable to a lot of people while also being very true to what I believe people love about Bride. Here’s the weird thing about Bride Of Frankenstein. It is one of the weirdest movies you’ll ever see in your life. It is such a strange film. What amazes me is that the bride doesn’t show up until, what, the last ten minutes of the film? Doesn’t say anything, rejects Frankenstein, he pulls a lever and the building explodes and that’s the end of it. It’s not like she has long monologues, it’s not like you get to know her character, it’s not like she goes out into the world. There’s almost no screen time with her.

“And yet everybody remembers the iconic look, the hair, who she was. Articles have been written, there’s Halloween costumes. It’s an enduring character because there’s something mysterious about her and that look, and the idea that she was created to serve another man. Which is gonna be an interesting thing to tackle in this day and age. It might be something we subvert in our film. It will be really interesting to see where we go because I actually think that Bride is maybe a lot more accessible as a character than you may think. Mostly because she’s not really a character yet based on the original Bride Of Frankenstein.”

Although it’s true that the Bride only shows up at the very end of James Whale’s original film, that length of screentime may not satisfy modern audiences, especially if the studio wants to cast a big name actress in the role. Angelina Jolie has been long rumored to play the Bride in the film, though she has yet to be confirmed for the role. Kurtzman recently named the actress as one of the people he wants in the cinematic universe, so it seems like there is still interest on the studio-side for Jolie to join the movie.

At this stage, there is very little that we actually know about Universal’s plans for the Dark Universe, which is being spearheaded by Kurtzman and Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast and Furious). Though they have plans to reboot all of the their iconic monster films, Universal’s Dark Universe slate will likely be determined based on how well The Mummy performs at the box office.

Source: Den of Geek

  • The Mummy Release Date: 2017-06-09