Universal attempted to make the Dark Universe happen 8 years ago with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy, and Wolf Man confirms it’s a good thing the cinematic universe failed. The 2025 horror film from director Leigh Whannell is the latest instance of classic Universal Monsters being reinvented for modern audiences. This direction for some iconic creatures was a heavy emphasis of 2017’s The Mummy, which starred Tom Cruise in a big-budget, action-driven feature. It was meant to kickstart an entire cinematic universe – known as the Dark Universe – that would bring together Invisible Man, Frankenstein, and more.
The Dark Universe plans were sprawling ahead of The Mummy‘s release in 2017, including Universal’s now infamous pH๏τo of Russell Crowe, Javier Bardem, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, and Sofia Boutella pH๏τoshopped together as a promise of the monster franchise to come. This hope came crashing down in the fallout of The Mummy‘s release, as it made $410 million at the box office, resulting in Universal losing between $60M-$95M on the film. That ushered in a new direction for upcoming Universal Monster movies that Wolf Man belongs to, and the 2025 film proves the pivot was for the best.
Wolf Man Was Originally Going To Be Part Of The Dark Universe
Universal Had Eyes On A Wolf Man Movie For Years
By the time The Mummy came out in 2017, Universal had many different films in development that were intended to be part of the Dark Universe. The franchise only got as far as bringing Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp aboard as Frankenstein and The Invisible Man, respectively, in terms of people who did not appear in The Mummy. However, a Wolf Man movie was in development at Universal since 2014. Aaron Guzikowski was hired to write a script for the film, which was planned as a new potential franchise starter within the Dark Universe.
Development on this iteration of Wolf Man did not make it too far by all accounts. No director was ever hired to make the film. There were reports that Universal wanted Dwayne Johnson to play Wolf Man in the new film and join the Dark Universe’s A-list ensemble cast. This all came to a halt after The Mummy‘s release. Universal canceled several Dark Universe movies and reconfigured its approach going forward. This even led to Ryan Gosling spearheading the development of a new Wolf Man movie, which led to the new film he serves as a producer on.
2025’s Wolf Man Could Not Exist Within The Dark Universe
This Iteration Of Wolf Man Wouldn’t Work In A Shared Universe
The Dark Universe’s collapse is ultimately a good thing when looking at 2025’s Wolf Man. Universal made it clear what direction the cinematic universe was heading in with The Mummy. These films were going to be driven by top-tier stars, lean into action over horror, and carry mᴀssive budgets. There was also surely going to be an emphasis on crossovers and worldbuilding to set up future installments. The Mummy shows why that approach was not the best, as there were flat characters, not enough scares, and too much franchise setup for a single film.
It’s striking how different Wolf Man is compared to The Mummy. The new monster movie might as well be the exact opposite in every way. The film is headlined by rising stars in Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, has a very small scale to the story, brings the horror aspects to the forefront, and is an entirely standalone story. There is no sequel set up or universe building in Wolf Man‘s ending. It’s the anтιтhesis of what the Dark Universe was going for then.
There is no chance this version of Wolf Man would have been made under the Dark Universe banner. That’s an ᴀssessment I feel confident in even without knowing what the Dark Universe’s version of Wolf Man was going to be about. But if Dwayne Johnson was the archetype for the lead role, a big-budget, action-heavy blockbuster would have been the result. Instead, 2025’s Wolf Man gives audiences a small, personal family drama horror film relying on practical effects that doesn’t have the weight of a shared universe on its shoulders.
Wolf Man Is Further Proof That Universal’s Monsters Don’t Need The Dark Universe
Bringing Back The Dark Universe Would Be A Disservice
The idea of the Dark Universe and a franchise with all of Universal’s classic monsters intermixing is not a foreign concept, as the studio had success with the idea on a smaller scale through the 1930s and 1950s. However, Wolf Man is another reminder that this is not a necessity to do these characters justice. Universal has had a few recent success stories with these properties by removing the shared universe burden from them. In the last six years, they’ve made The Invisible Man, Renfield, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Abigail, and now Wolf Man.
|
Movie |
Critics RT Score |
Audience RT Score |
Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Invisible Man (2020) |
91% |
88% |
$144.4 million |
|
Renfield (2023) |
58% |
79% |
$26.4 million |
|
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) |
50% |
74% |
$21.7 million |
|
Abigail (2024) |
83% |
84% |
$42.7 million |
|
Wolf Man (2025) |
54% |
62% |
N/A |
While not all of these movies were warmly received by critics or did good business at the box office, there is a lot to like about them individually. Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man stands as the best of the bunch critically and commercially. Renfield may have struggled with critics, but Nicolas Cage as Dracula lived up to expectations. The Last Voyage of the Demeter told the Dracula story most films skip right over, providing a new experience. Abigail showed how to reboot the Dark Universe with Dracula’s daughter. And Wolf Man takes swings a bigger franchise installment might not have.
By making all these different standalone movies, Universal is giving fans of the Universal Monsters more films to see. Importantly, this is all being done without audiences or filmmakers worrying about how a film connects to others. These movies work alone and do not need a big team-up crossover like the Dark Universe so desperately wanted. Not every movie is bound to be great, but the Dark Universe wasn’t off to a great start. It’s much better to let these movies and characters exist on their own than force a shared universe strictly for potential box office profits.
What Wolf Man Means For The Future Of Universal’s Monster Movies
More Standalone Monster Movies Are Coming
How big of a hit Wolf Man is for Universal remains to be seen, as the critical response has been more mixed than expected. Wolf Man‘s box office could be a key factor for Universal and Blumhouse then when it comes to determining what the future of these properties will look like. In the years since abandoning the Dark Universe, Universal has started development on a handful of films that are meant to continue the standalone movie approach. This includes James Wan potentially directing a new The Creature of the Black Lagoon after developing an original idea for the script.
That is far from the only Universal Monster movie still in development. Reboots of The Phantom of the Opera, Van Helsing, Scorpion King, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Woman, and Frankenstein have been in the works for years, but none of them are imminent at this stage. One has to wonder if Universal will reconsider the future of these properties if Wolf Man underperforms at the box office just as Abigail, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and Renfield did. That could include rethinking whether a Dark Universe should happen but just in a new way.
