At the beginning of the 1930's, Universal studios helped to bring horror films into the mainstream. Their early talkie horror films included the likes of Dracula and Frankenstein and have went on to influence countless later films and other forms of media. These early monster movies are extremely significant in the history of cinema as, in some ways, they are what set the standard for horror cinema both thematically and stylistically, they also introduced some true legends of the genre such as Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. Recently it has been announced that Universal plan to reboot these classic films in a Marvel style shared cinematic universe, which sounds great on paper. However, whether this is a success or not all depends on the execution and how the final productions turn out. Production has already begun on The Mummy with Kingsman actor Sofia Boutella attached as the eponymous mummy and Tom Cruise as the protagonist while Johnny Depp seems like the top contender to play the invisible man in his own film, but what about the rest? Who will be the next person to don Dracula's cape or transform into the Wolfman when the moon is full? These are my thougts.
Dracula
Universal already gave us a Dracula reboot of sorts in Dracula Untold which was a dreadful film in both its portrayal of Dracula and its historical accuracy. Although Luke Evans is a good actor, the role was written to be a protagonist and I think if Dracula is to be rebooted the character needs to be as sinister as ever. First of all I think the perfect director for a Dracula reboot would be Robert Eggers, if he could bring that suspenseful atmosphere from The Witch to a film about Dracula then I think it could work really well. Secondly, I think Mads Mikkelsen would be fantastic as the titular vampire. If Hannibal has thought us anything it is that Mikkelsen has this very strong presence onscreen, he played a character who held a unique blend of sophistication and animalistic violence which is something that he could bring to Count Dracula that could work really well. As for his arch nemesis Abraham Van Helsing, I think Christoph Waltz would be a very interesting choice. The Austrian actor has given many memorable performances throughout his career and seeing him in the role of the devout vampire hunter facing off against Mikkelsens Dracula would be a sight to behold. Other casting choices that I would like to see in a Dracula reboot are Domhnall Gleeson as Johnathan Harker, Janet Montgomery as his fiance Mina Murray and Iwan Rheon as Reinfield. There is still an extensive ensemble cast to be filled depending on whether the film follows the novel or stage production like the 1931 version, or who knows, Universal may take an entirely different route.
Frankenstein
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One director who has previously expressed interest in making a Frankenstein adaptation is Guillermo Del Toro and personally, I can think of no better man for the job. Del Toro has a very unique visual style that I think would suit a Frankenstein film down to a T, along with this the Mexican director has a penchant for designing memorable and grotesque monsters which is something that he could incorporate into the creature design. As for the creature himself, it would only be right that if Del Toro was directing then frequent collaborator Doug Jones would be cast in that role. Jones has appeared in almost all of Del Toro's films and is usually unrecognisable under the layers of makeup he wears, he has played the likes of Abe Sapien in Hellboy and Hellboy 2 and both the Faun and the Pale man in Pan's Labyrinth. His expressive face and memorable features make him a big contender for the role of the monster. As for Dr. Frankenstein himself I think that Benedict Cumberbatch would excel in the role, he has already played both Dr. Frankenstein and the monster in Danny Boyle's stage adaptation and his performance would undoubtedly be powerful enough to match that of Colin Clive's. David Tennant would be a great choice for the hunchbacked assistant (his performance in The Goblet of Fire is proof enough) while Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer could play Elizabeth.
The Wolfman
After watching his film The Hallow, I think that Corin Hardy would be the director for the job when bringing The Wolfman back to the big screen. Along with being favourable towards practical effects, he has a relatively small filmography so directing such a big film as The Wolfman could really help to further his career. As for the Wolfman himself, Lawrence Talbot, I think Tom Hardy would be perfect for the role. Hardy is known for playing characters who are wild an unhinged while maintaining a certain level of depth and that is basically what the Wolfman is, a man struggling between his humanity and the beast inside. Hardy would certainly give one of his best performances yet. As for Talbot's stern father, Sir. John, I think Charles Dance could channel some of that inner Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones to portray that strict father figure. Jenna Coleman of Doctor Who fame would be a good choice for Talbot's love interest Gwen, she is a character who entices Talbot from the beginning and Coleman is no stranger when it comes to playing strong female characters. The film was remade about 6 years ago with Benicio Del Toro in the lead and although it was praised for its creature effects, it was criticized for being a bit boring. Perhaps if Corin Hardy were to direct this he could make is just as suspenseful and chilling as The Hallow was.
The Creature From the Black Lagoon
This is one of the few films on this list that would work well in a contemporary setting and if there was one director who could really capture the beauty of the Amazon rainforest while providing suspense and scares it is Cary Fukunaga. The director is known for his distinct visual style as seen in the likes of True Detective and Sin Nombre where he really managed to capture the beautiful settings and use them as backdrops for the thrilling stories. True Detective star Matthew McConaughey would be a great choice for the male lead Dr. Reed while Scarlett Johansson could play his collegue and love interest Dr. Kay Thompson. Other members of the expedition include fellow scientists Carl Maia and Mark Williams who could be portrayed by Javier Bardem and Idris Elba respectively. As for the creature itself I think a full CGI gill man would be a bad choice, in order to avoid the rubbery look of the original they could even use a combination of CGI and practical effects. Then of course there is the motion capture route and in that case give Andy Serkis a call. I like to think that if the film was remade it could be a Prometheus-esque horrific adventure film, something like Alien in the Amazon. It could act as an opportunity to make the gill man a more serious and menacing baddie as opposed to the original rubbery one.
The Bride of Frankenstein
Assuming it would be a sequel to Del Toro's Frankenstein it would contain the cast members in their respective roles from that film while adding a couple more. First of all the bride herself, Universal had expressed interest in Angelina Jolie directing this one and that would be an excellent decision in my opinion, she could also star as the bride if she wished as I believe she could bring a level of depth to the character, something she lacked in the original. Another important role from the original is Dr. Frankenstein's former mentor Doctor Pretorious, a camp character who was implied to be homosexual, I think openly gay actor Ian McKellen would do wonders with the role. One thing I would love to see in this film is more background for the bride, where did she come from? Who was she in life? I also would like to see her on screen more as opposed to the few minutes of screen time she had in the original. If Jolie chooses to remain behind the camera for this one then perhaps Rooney Mara could even take on the role, the bride is a character who I feel needs much more attention.
So those are my thoughts, I am curious to see if any of this does end up happening and if not, how will Universal go about these films. If Dracula Untold was in fact the first of these and the rest of the films will be similar to that then I cannot see things going well. The original monster movies are milestones in cinema, they are films that deserve a certain amount of care and respect when being rebooted and if Universal are just going to throw out any old CGI-filled fantasy film then they should be ashamed. It will be interesting to see how these films do turn out and I look forward to seeing them all, I like to think that they will be handled with care and executed well but these days it is easy to just spew out anything that will rake in profit. Only time will tell how these films turn out.
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