Universal’s Monsters Franchise To All Be Standalone Installments

The Universal Monsters shared universe will be established once Alex Kurtzman's reboot of The Mummy opens in theaters on June 9. Starring Tom Cruise in the lead role as Nick Morton, the title will be the start of a franchise opportunity for the studio as they attempt to get onboard the craze that has been tapped into by Warner Brothers with DC, and Marvel with Disney and 20th Century Fox respectively.

Producer Chris Morgan joined Kurtzman to sit down with Collider this week, outlining the how, what, why and when of Universal's movies. Although the temptation will be there for crossover material, they stated that each film will be of their own making.

Mummy's Tomb To Open A Myriad of Creatures From The Darkness

Tom Cruise in The Mummy

Although Russell Crowe will be debuting his role as Dr. Henry Jekyll for June's blockbuster, Morgan states that every character within their own picture will have their individual world to look after.

"We kind of designed them all to be kind of standalone sorts of franchises that have kind of similar things between them," said the producer. "And as the scripts came in, then we started putting them in a, 'Well this would be a good order. We reveal this here' so now it really comes down to, again, it's a studio decision on which film is coming out next. Just with all the films we're working on, Bride of Frankenstein, Van Helsing, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Wolfman, Invisible Man, and on and on and on, it's a real embarrassment of riches in terms of awesome, fun characters."

Taking on supervillains with such a legacy, Morgan says that his 9 to 5 job could not be any better than right now.

"I always say it this way: I'm in my office right now and I've got a Werewolf head mounted on the wall. It's pretty good to come into your office and, that's what you're working with, you're working with monsters that are 80, almost 100 years old. There's a real legacy, a real respect, the fact that this studio, I don't think, would have lasted if it wasn't for the monsters, it really built up."

We're All Monsters In Our Own Way: Morgan

Russell Crowe The Mummy

Seeing how the MCU and DCEU are attempting at creating a superhero genre that takes the audience on a journey of redemption and righteousness, Morgan makes the point that these figures are too flawed to ever be placed in the same bracket.

"We live in a world of superhero movies now, and by the way, I love them and I see them all and I have a great time, but I can't identify with them as closely as I want to because I know I'll never be perfect like that," said Morgan. "Whereas the monster movies are saying that everybody has darkness in them, everyone has secrets and things they are ashamed of and don't want to say or something that feels monstrous and dangerous about them. We're just kind of embracing that and saying, 'That's ok.'"

Source: Collider

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