How The Invisible Man Paves the Way for a Better Dark Universe – CBR – Comic Book Resources

While the Dark Universe flatlined after The Mummy, The Invisible Man gives hope for a new version of this connected, classic monster universe.

It feels like decades ago that Universal first announced its classic monster crossoverplans, dubbed The Dark Universe." It was meant to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe by bringing A-list talent to Universals stacked roster of beloved creature features. Javier Bardem was to portray Frankensteins monster, Johnny Depp was set for the Invisible Man and 2017s The Mummyintroduced Sofia Boutella as the titular monster, Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and Tom Cruise asthe soldier Nick Morton. Despite this, the plans came to a stopwith the first installment in the Dark Universe, which was panned by critics and flopped at the box office.

It was back to square one for Universal, who decided to pass on the challenge to Blumhouse to see if they could salvage anything from the mess, and they kick started it all with Leigh Whannells 2020 remake of The Invisible Man.Made on asmall budget of$7 million, whichis nothing in comparison to The Mummy's$125 million budget, so it was a safe bet for Universal and Blumhouse, and it paid off.

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Opening in February of this year, Universals newer, smaller take on The Invisible Man earned rave reviews from critics and was a box office success. Whannell took the Invisible Manidea and utilized it to tell a human story thatresonates with survivors of abuse.The Invisible Man follows Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss), who escapes from an abusive relationship. When her violent ex commits suicide and leaves her his fortune, she begins to suspect that hes not really dead and that she is being hunted by a man no one can see.

This is not a film about a scientist who turns invisibleto murder strangers, nor is it Kevin Bacon from Hollow Man spying on naked women. This is a film about a woman with severe PTSD, who, despite leaving her abusive relationship, can never fully escape the traumaher ex inflicted on her in life and death. This is a film where gaslightingis as effective and scary as invisibility when it comes to destroying a survivor's life.By honing in on reallife horrors, ones that specifically resonate with survivors of abuse, The Invisible Mangoes beyond the typical creature feature.

Audiences might enjoy big spectacle, but what they care most about is a good story in which they can find something to relate to. For further proof of this, just look at the absolutely massive success of 2019s Joker, which used the Clown Prince of Gotham to tell a personal story of classism and mental health issues. Both Joker and The Invisible Man are films based on popular properties, made on budgets that are a fraction of their contemporaries and ended up being just as successful, if not more than, their big budget counterparts. Its on this template that Universal fortunately seems to be re-building their Dark Universe.

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In the lead-up to the release of The Invisible Man and in the months after, many announcementswere made about whats to come from the Dark Universe. Control seems to be fully given to Blumhouse, who has various other monster movie adaptations in development. Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) was announced to direct a new version of Dracula, and its easy to imagine a similar take on the material by featuring a predatorwho takes a seriouspsychological tollonhis victims.

One of the biggest gets for this potentially burgeoning franchise came with the recent announcement that Ryan Goslingwill take on the Wolfman. The only plot details known so far are that Gosling will play a news anchor who transforms into the Wolfman, and that its in the vein of Jake Gyllenhaals Nightcrawler. The classic version of the Wolfman explores the duality of man, as well the hidden monster within everyone. Using the public and private face of a news anchor to tackle these themes, especially in todays media climate, feels particularly relevant.

It seems that Universal, with Blumhouse's collaboration, has taken all of the right lessons from the success of The Invisible Man. Simplicity and a relatable story are enough for a poignant creature feature. With this in mind, these new versions of the Wolfman and Dracula will surely please fans and critics alike.

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Josh Floyd is a writer from the southeast who has been a lifelong film fan. He began professionally writing for local publications after graduating from college in 2016. A walking IMDb, he's the guy everyone turns to when they can't place a name to that character actor's face (it's always John Hawkes, btw.) One day CBR.com will be writing about the movies that he makes. If you want to be nosy about his personal life, he's @joshdfloyd on various social media sites.

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How The Invisible Man Paves the Way for a Better Dark Universe - CBR - Comic Book Resources

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