Much like sequels, monster movie remakes have always been hit or miss. Some are good, a couple could be considered great and some, as Dr. Petrie found out in THE MUMMY'S HAND after breaking The Seal of the Seven Jackals, defy the gods and should be well enough left alone.
One of the latter is BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a 1935 sequel to the original Universal FRANKENSTEIN of 1931. No amount of writing, acting, makeup, art direction or filming would be able to come close to the near-perfect work of director James Whale, the acting of Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Ernest Thesiger and a host of Universal's character and supporting actors, or the makeup artistry of the incomparable Jack Pierce.
But, an online article from cinemablend.com reports that a BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN remake (reboot?) is in the works in a relaunch of the Dark Universe cycle. Angelina "Tomb Raider" Jolie was originally slated for the role of the Bride and Javier "No Country For Old Men" Bardem was cast as The Monster.
Here's the skinny:
Dark Universe Holdover Bride Of Frankenstein Has Found New Life At Universal
Adam Holmes | JUN. 12. 2020 | 6:30 PM | cinemablend.com
Back when Universal Pictures was still pushing ahead with its Dark Universe franchise, the plan was for a new version of Bride of Frankenstein to be the second movie out the gate, with The Mummy having kicked things off in summer 2017. As we all know, the Dark Universe failed to launch, and while Universal has pushed ahead with standalone movies centered on its iconic monsters, Bride of Frankenstein’s fate has been shrouded in uncertainty.
Back in February, it was reported that Oscar-winning producer Amy Pascal was looking for a way to bring Bride of Frankenstein to the big screen. As it turns out, the current health crisis has breathed new life into the project, with producer David Koepp, who wrote the Bride of Frankenstein script, revealing:
That was one thing I did during quarantine – I brought back Bride of Frankenstein into a place where I kind of always wanted it to be. Universal was very gracious to let me try again. Because they had geared up and shut down famously in the Dark Universe fiasco. Well, not fiasco, but disappointment. So I have a version now and they have a version that we all really like. I think they’re talking to directors now.
Originally slated to come out in February 2019, Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon was tapped to helm Bride of Frankenstein, with Angelina Jolie being lined up for the eponymous role and Javier Bardem playing Frankenstein’s monster. Things got far enough along in the creative process that sets started being constructed, but by October 2017, just four months after The Mummy failed to critically or commercially impress, Bride of Frankenstein’s release date was pulled and the Dark Universe shared continuity was scrapped.
Now though, it’s looking like Bride of Frankenstein is back on track to actually happening, per David Koepp’s comments to Collider. As for the scope of the feature, here’s what Koepp had to say when asked if Bride of Frankenstein would work off of the same kind “cost effective, highly profitable Blumhouse model” used on this year’s The Invisible Man, Koepp responded:
It’s not the great big, $150 million extravaganza with giant movie stars. It’s not as scaled down as Invisible Man but much more reasonable, doable thing, with, I think, a really cool idea and it’s all present day.
So now we know that while Bill Condon was originally selected to direct Bride of Frankenstein, a new filmmaker will be taking over that project, though it's hard to say who that will end up being. In the meantime, considering how well The Invisible Man performed, going a similar small-scale route with Bride of Frankenstein seems like the right call.
Bride of Frankenstein is just one of many Universal Monsters-related projects in development post-Dark Universe fall. Other include a James Wan-produced Frankenstein-like movie, a new Dracula movie directed by Karyn Kusama and a Wolfman reboot that will star Ryan Gosling.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates concerning Bride of Frankenstein, including which new director is ultimately brought on board.
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