Anna Daniels
Now that The Invisible Man is a huge hit for Blumhouse, more Universal monster reboots are all but guaranteed. Universal already has the Dracula spin-off Renfield in the works, as well as Elizabeth Banks’s Invisible Woman. What else could we see in the future? According to Blumhouse head Jason Blum, the answer is Frankenstein. Blum recently revealed he’d love to make a new Frankenstein movie – and this isn’t just wishful thinking. He’s actually reached out to filmmakers to try to develop a new adaptation.
While guesting on The Evolution of Horror podcast, Jason Blum spoke a bit about future Universal monster reboots Blumhouse might tackle in the wake of The Invisible Man. “I’d love to do Frankenstein,” said Blum. “I’ve tasked our filmmakers with trying to figure out just straight Frankenstein. Again, I don’t know if someone else is doing it, I don’t know anything about it, but I would love to try and I’m waiting for the great idea…the best ideas feel like, ‘My gosh, it’s so obvious, why didn’t that happen before?’ If we could come up with something as good for Frankenstein, I’d love to try that.”
Blum’s comment isn’t a confirmation that Blumhouse is making a new Frankenstein, but the fact that he says he’s “tasked” his filmmakers with “trying to figure [it] out” shows that he’s definitely interested in finding a way to make this happen. Frankenstein has been adapted to film countless times already. In fact, one of the first horror movies ever made was a 1910 short film adaptation of Frankenstein from Edison Studios.
Universal Pictures got involved with the story in 1931, with their classic film adaptation starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster. That film spawned several sequels and cross-overs. There are numerous other notable adaptations, including Mel Brooks’s hilarious Young Frankenstein, Kenneth Branagh’s over-the-top take starring Robert De Niro, and Larry Fessenden’s recent – and quite good – adaptation, Depraved.
Back when Universal was all-in on their Dark Universe idea they had tasked Bill Condon will directing a Bride of Frankenstein reboot starring Javier Bardem. Then that all collapsed. Frankenstein is a classic story for a reason, and it’s understandable to see why filmmakers return to it so often. The trick for Blumhouse would be to find something new to do with the material. One of the things that made the most recent Invisible Man special was that it took a familiar tale and applied something fresh to the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the future continues to look bright for the Universal monster reboots. In addition to Renfield and The Invisible Woman, there’s also a film titled The Monster Mash, as well as Paul Feig’s Dark Army, which includes both classic Universal monsters and new characters.
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