The History & Wasted Potential of the Dark Universe 

The Werewolf design from Van Helsing was the absolute GOAT! Why don't more stories use that great design?

I would LOVE to see Hugh Jackman as VanHelsing again. I loved that movie so much as a kid. I think you're right that VanHelsing would be the best character to link films in a "Dark Universe" setting.

Branden Frazier was 😍 and I was obsessed with anything Egypt then so I would watch the movies on repeat. And van hellsing was so good😭😭

I really hope dark universe gets a second try, it would be amazing to get these iconic film monsters not only on screen again but in a combined world. At the very least, it wouldn’t be another superhero franchise. I do love them, but they are just everywhere. Plus I’d be a great way to get some of the lesser loved characters some time to shine, like the Gilman (creature from black lagoon) would be amazing to finally see again

I actually really enjoyed Dracula untold. But it’s no 1999 Mummy and the classic it is.

I went to the theatre to see the Tom Cruise The Mummy and what a waste. I truly felt that Tom Cruise was miscast and it just felt like a Tom Cruise action movie. I liked Russell Crowe as Jekyll/Hyde though.

I don't care what anyone says, Dracula Untold was one of the greatest takes on Dracula I've ever seen. I had no idea I would absolutely love an "origin story" let alone that this WAS an origin story to begin with. While the action was amazing it was character building and the story that truly made it incredible for me. If you have not seen this movie go watch it. You will not be disappointed I promise you.

Dracula Untold is by far one of the most underrated movies ever, I need part 2 with or without the shared universe

I didn’t know that Dracula Untold was supposed to be related to this but I loved it

Dracula Untold is possibly my favourite vampire movie of all time to be honest and if there was no Dark Universe I'd have just loved a Dracula Untold movie trilogy or something

The Mummy(1999) could've start the Dark Universe, nine years before the MCU began with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008. Sadly, that never became a reality but I'll always take the tail end of the millennium's Mummy with Brendan Fraser over the 2017 Tom Cruise version, because it felt more like a Cruise oriented action film rather than pay respects to both the 1932 original and 1999 reimagining(it was handled 75% by Tom Cruise, an active member of the controversial Church of Scientology, the man who kept going on an on with the Mission Impossible series for no reason but as the main lead akin to Bruce Willis and Die Hard, and The Mummy 2017 trailer forgetting to have music and SFX, worsening the movie's flaws prior to release). Still, Universal had their Monster Universe before the late 90s roughly in the 30s to 50s, but someday might make a comeback in greater form, as a reminder to learn from a failed attempt at leeching off the MCU's success.

7:07 lmaoooo its funny how that Spongebob clip really encapsulates the A24 vibe; ominous and ambiguous horror happening while a choir does ghost noises

The Brendan Fraser Mummy is a remake of The Boris Karloff Classic and also, I did enjoy Dracula Untold. As for The Mummy 2017, Universal should've picked either Sam Worthington or Justin Long instead of Tom Cruise as Nick Morton.

I think the Dark Universe should have it's own identity instead of trying to do what Marvel or even DC is doing. Just like how the name suggest it should be dark, creepy, moody, gothic, maybe poetic, these are classic monster movies with a style that definitely withstand the test of time so it would be cool if they expanded upon them instead of making them big superhero movies.

Honestly I’d prefer if they called it the “Universal Monster Universe” instead of The Dark Universe. But seriously I would’ve loved to see this come to alive but more horror and I’ll make even fantasy themed concept as well come to life and become successful.

We were robbed of so many good movies that will probably never be made.

May i direct you to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"? Such a fantastic movie.

I think that connecting an unknown entity responsible for the supernatural to the films could make for a Bridge between the full blown horror movies, Sort of a Cthlhu or Turtle(from IT) type beast that is never seen but its precense is felt and talked about.

They need to make a Dracula Untold sequel!

I fell they should’ve had the wolf man 2010 , and Dracula untold be the start of their universe , because that would’ve given them time to plan things for the future

Lol Scrift That's funny, I've never heard that word before

The original Dark Universe shocked the world because they never saw the like of it before. It was Gothic, romantic, sinister, poetic, frightening and macabre with humour that evolved from the elements of each story. The original Dark Universe did not have "movie stars" it had actors who gave pathos and meaning to the characters. Most of these were written in the Victorian era, when people were fascinated by the macabre and conflicts of morality. When Hammer made their versions they introduced blood and a sexuality that was more telling than before, and again used actors, not stars. DRACULA: He is cursed with an immortality, the story tells the horror of that, and the penalty ( consuming blood ) that needs to be performed to sustain it. Although thought of as the epitome of evil, he fears God and fears death. FRANKENSTEIN: The point of the story was, why man should not play God, and consequences of when he does. He is so focused on creating life that he doesn't realise how far from humanity he keeps going away from, and that it is he and not his creation that is the monster. THE MUMMY: Being buried alive because he fell in love, he has spent thousands of years of a living hell, that once released nothing can stop his revenge. THE WOLFMAN: Cursed by circumstance out of his control, the story is about him trying to find a cure while trying not to kill the people whom he cares about. To succeed with a Dark Universe, each story has to be organic with a genuine Gothic and unsettling atmosphere. These are human stories, that reflect the frailties of the the human mind. We need to go back to original movies to see why are we still watching them, and will we watch the modern film in 90 years time.

I love that your intro music is from black ops 4 zombies

Really liked Dracula untold, the 90s mummy movie and the Hugh jackman van helsing movie is one of my favorite movies 😊

They murdered the ending of Dracula Untold. That was a great movie.

Dark Universe would have been good. First few minutes sums up the issue. The reboot was not fun and has no consistent story. I think having modern horror directora do this the tone would clash. James Wan is very different from Peeles style.

Do more Connected universe videos please.

Dracula from the 90s is my favorite as well alongside the scorpion king with Dwayne Johnson the rock.

I used to watch the Mummy on reapeat on VHS when i was 5 years old 😂

I can tell you exactly where the Dark Universe went wrong, making a Tom Cruise movie instead of making a mummy movie. It was Mission Impossible sprinkled with some Egyptian visual effects. Disgraceful.

I so wanted this to work. When I first heard about the “Dark Universe “, I was like a kid at Christmas. Yet, not to be. I own The Mummy 2017 on DVD, and think there was just too much going on in the first film. Should have spared some of the plot points for other projects.

So...here me out, Henry Jekyll is introduced in his own movie which strougle with his mortality and his darker (evil) alter mr hyde, then we get a vanHelsing gets a movie and by the end becomes an emortal, then we get monster movies that appear disconnected but after say...6 monster films we can get a movie titled " the monster hunter", in which Jekyll recruits vanHelsing to hunt down all these monsters( and it would be like it version of endgame, going for no more then 3 hours of just blood, mutilation and of course monster murder)

If you were to create a cinematic universe and link these monster movies together, there needs to be an element that connects to all of them in some shape or form. The Mummy could've been the secret origin of vampirism. A substance used to bring the Frankenstein monster to life, could've originated in South America.

You know I really wanted this to work and I hope one day they get it right and make this cinematic universe I think Universal's mistake was having Tom Cruise onborde giving him creative control and having it not focus on its a lot on its titled character.

The actors for these movies COULD NOT be actions heroes and pretty boys. If I see the Rock I’m immediately turned off from anything and everything that could happen. It should be charismatic and primarily English actors who are used to playing olden day folk or villains. Think Sleepy Hollow.

They already have Werefolf, Van Helsing, Invisible Woman and Reinfield on the way.

Universal said they might still do it after the 2020 invisible man movie did well

If I were to do a shared cinematic universe based around the Universal Monsters, this is how I would do it: Hire filmmakers who are primarily known for horror to work on it, have it be set in the late 19th century - early 20th century, maybe have Van Helsing be at the centre of it, have them be R-rated movies, have them be more smaller budgeted movies so you don't go loosing $100 million plus at the box office, maybe have Dracula be the overarching villain of a series of movies, don't cast super big-named stars.

I think they should have focused on making more stylistic horror movies instead of action cashgrabs. It should be a spiritual cinematic universe. Here's my slate pitch: The Universe Name: Dark Monster Universe 1) THE DRACULA : I think it should be the proper adaptation of Bran Stroker's Novel. It should be stylistic gothic horror. It should be directed by Robert Eggers. Christian Bale is my ideal Dracula. 2) Dracula Year Zero : It will be a prequel to the dracula movie. It should be the same movie as Dracula Untold with some minor changes. Christian Bale will be Vlad the Impaler. 3) Creature from the black lagoon: It will be directed by Guillermo Del Toro. It will be the same movie as the shape of water. I think creature should be played by cillian murphy. 4) Frankenstein: It should also be directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Doctor Frankenstein should be played by Oscar Isaac and the Monster should be played by Andrew Garfield. 5) The Mummy: I would prefer a really scary version of The Mummy closer to something like the 1999 film. 6) The Wolf Man: I think it should be similar to the 2010 movie with minor changes. I think it should be played by Jake Gyllenhal. 7) Nosferatu: It will also be directed by Robert Eggers. Nosferatu should be played Bill Skarsgard. 8) The Invisible Man : It will be the same as the 2020 movie.

Alongside in the invisible man with kevin bacon.

If we do see other Classic Horror MONSTER on the Big screen that's Hope It's Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde that would make a prefect psychological thriller

The Mummy Van Helsing The Wolfman Victor Frankenstein Fear the Invisible Man The Legend of Extra Ordinary Gentlemen

I wish we had gotten at least one more dark universe film just to see if it could have worked

If the dark universe was successful I bet the villain of the first team up movie would be an overpowered van helsing

I think that Universal should just try and rebuild it from the ground up.

But there is a crossover with the dark universe tho, it's called Monsters vs Aliens 😂 😂

I think The Dark Universe was doomed it began. I the remember the initial coverage of this universe. It all sounded good until two things were said. We're aiming at making the Dark Universe PG-13 and exciting as possible. You bring up the best point, they weren't horror movies. They were action movies with horror aspects. The Dark Universe should have been a hard R horror franchise. It would have been great competition at that time.

Maybe make the dark universe an anthology type deal.

Maybe they could revive or reboot this universe by doing the same thing but fix the issues

Dracula untold is an amazing movie and so much better than the new Mummy movie The old mummy y movies are great. The Van Helsing movie was great also

I actually really enjoyed Dracula Untold

VanHelsing. Was the key to all of that. But they screw it up badly. Vanhelsing book. Of monster he faced. Trying to find his books has been lost. Each book describe how to kill or capture an monster. Its like Stones from marvel.

Imma be honest; I'm actually really tired of shared universe if only because people and exects with zero clue or creativity just jumped on it thinking it was an easy money printer but more often than not, it's a boring waste of viewers' time. I have more respect for people that can make one strong stand-alone movie than some jackass trying to force a bunch of movies that have vauge similarities and themes as a 'shared universe' who then later acts as if they're the one who came up with the idea, thus we're obligated to kiss their ass. These studios didn't strike when the iron was hot. They tried to sharpie over someone else's name while having none of the stuff needed to back up their big project ideas. But most of all, like you said they lacked fun and excitement. The Fraiser Mummy movies ARE fun and filled with energy as well as being 'period pieces' as opposed to everything being set at current date at the time. It was like the mindset going on was that audiences will accept any and all movies if they're set in a 'shared universe' without thinking once about making the movie actually engaging, PERIOD. "That movie was boring as shit but at least it's a shared universe movie!"

While I don’t find The Mummy (2017) as bad as some make it out to be, it definitely left a lot to be desired.

If only they've made it in the 2000s ? It would sell lots of tickets my favorite dark universe movies is the mummy trilogy alongside Brendan Fraser ,but tom cruise didn't really do it for me.

I think they pulled the plug way too soon

I'm sorry the epic Gravity Falls music in the video is too distracting

Universal should have just ripped off castlevania make Dracula overarching threat time manipulating castle and boom ya done

Starting off the universe with a remake of an already beloved classic and then having a huge name attached to that movie was a bad idea. Not only am I going to be thinking of the better, more fun, version of this remake but I’m also going to be thinking about the other movies Tom Cruise was in. To add to that, The Mummy 2017 just looked bland and uninspiring, so then the movie itself just ends up being Tom Cruise Action Movie #27. Nothing wrong with Tom Cruise either, but having him in your movie is just jarring cause I can’t stop thinking of Top Gun every time he’s on screen. All in all, it’s a shame the Dark Universe wasn’t handled with more care because it would have been nice to see those classic monsters with todays tech and film techniques.

For me that put a sour taste in my mouth was the "Look here are some actors we're going to use" instead of the Marvel way of thinking of the story and finding actors to fit those roles. Most of the actors hadn't been in super duper A list celebs (bar a few like Samuel Jackson and Robert Downy) they picked people who ARE those roles. Not just using them as a cash cow. Plus timing was wrong. I think back on the 2000s universal were intimidated by POTC. If they waited for the trilogy to be over, the public would have been open to a new franchise. Instead they missed it and Super Heroes took over and they realised The Mummy too early into the "end" of the Super hero timescale. (Endgame)

Dark Universe deserves a second chance!

So I really like your videos have been watching quite a few of them. But you mention how Dark Universe couldn't have worked with all the creatures together and that isn't true. Dark Universe was supposed to be a modern take on the Universal Monsters which had done the whole crossover and existing in the same universe long before probably anyone, at least certainly the MCU anyways. Also Monster Squad is a really good example. I don't know how well it did when it came out but I was a fan from the beginning and it has a cult following now I'm sure. But I do agree with you that they should have took their time and mapped out their universe. They should have worried more about quality and maybe stuck with what had already worked. Not worrying about quality is I think one of the reasons why the DCEU failed, although it obviously still did way better than the Dark Universe.

I guess we're just ignoring hotel Transylvania exists and brought all them together?

Stop making monsters “the good guys”, instead reinvent them with a good story where they’re actually scarier and evil, and even modernized like they did with the 2020 invisible man. (You don’t see Chucky being a good guy after all these years, lol).

Honestly Van Helsing wasn't perfect, but good God if it isn't my favourite movie

Hey Matt....The first two episodes of 1899 were shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.....do you know any more about it? Will you make a video soon?

Love n Thunder is a joke. But I do worship Brendan Fraser

Firstly go back to the source material, do not reimagine, reinvent or any other stupid idea you might have. Secondly no big names and certainly not Tom Frickin Cruise, Tom Cruise plays Tom Cruise, one of the most overated actors on the planet. As soon as i saw TC attached to The Mummy i knew it would suck and it did, Sofia did good with what she had but she is no good as the mummy. Less is more should also be your watch word. I will admit the idea or Depp or Crowe especially as Dr Jekyl did intrigue me and Crowe was the best part of The Mummy anyway. Penny Dreaful managed to do this abiet on a smaller scale but it was still good. For me Penny Dreadful is the original Dark Universe.

I don't get it...the last mummy with Tom was a good movie. Why do people reject it?...please don't tell me is cuz the original actor wasn't in it 😑

Hot Take: The Mummy (2017) is a Great Movie!

Van Helsing is the only movie I have ever walked out of in the theater. Just awful!!!

To be honest. I would of loved to see the monster-verse take off. Could of had such a unique tone being it’s not superhero content and it has a much more gory, bloody, “mature” sort of hardened implied Nate’s

I Love the Dracula show so much. But the third episode lost me a bit

You would have to reimagine the time a little bit, and origin but here we go... Van Helsing - Hunts Monsters Bride of Frankenstein - VH wife Dracula - Kills VH wife Wolfman - is hunted by young VH and Dr. Moreau Dr.Moreau - becomes mad scientist along side Dr. Frankenstein Dr. F - creates Monster and moster Bride from part of mummys wrap Mummy - comes to life from cursed wrap Blob and Human Fly are created on Dr.M island Invisible man - Accidental exposure as Dr.M assistant

They stopped all of this greatness just to let the M She U make us regret seeing movies.

Yea, I would not have added Jordan Peele into that list. His movies are weak and highly overrated at best